Mariners ink both Jerry Dipoto and Scott Servais to multi-year contract extensions

The day after an exciting 4-0 win over the Houston Astros, the Mariners took care of another very important piece of business, signing both general manager/executive vice president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais to multi-year contract extensions, with Dipoto earning a promotion along the way. Both were in the midst of the final year of their contracts.

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The team announced the moves this morning and for Dipoto, he is now the Mariners’ first-ever president of baseball operations. According to a press release from the team, Dipoto will remain as “the key baseball decision maker” and will continue to report directly to team owner John Stanton. All aspects of baseball operations report directly to Dipoto.

“Jerry is a creative, passionate leader with a clear vision for our franchise,” Stanton said. “Following the 2018 season, Jerry came to us with a plan for how to compete for and win championships. He was transparent on the difficulty, but also clear on the goals and milestones. In the two-and-a-half years since, he has led the baseball operations group through challenges on and off the field, while executing on the timeline he laid out.

“Our major league team, despite being one of the youngest teams in baseball, is competing for a postseason spot. Since near the midpoint of the 2020 season, the club has posted an 91-76 mark, the sixth-best record in the American League (Aug. 21, 2020-current). He has also built a first-class operations and analytics team that enable the Mariners to compete intelligently on the field. At the same time, Jerry and his team have built out our minor league system, which was recently named the top ranked farm system in all of baseball by Baseball America.”

“The Mariners’ goal, from John and the partnership group, our baseball operation and throughout our front office is to win championships,” Dipoto said. “We set out 2.5 years ago to do everything we could to make sure we were building an organization that would compete for multiple postseason berths and championships. I believe we are closer to that goal now than we’ve ever been and am excited to continue to have the opportunity to deliver on that vision. The combination of a supportive partnership group, great ballpark, passionate fan base, our talented and driven baseball operations team and beautiful city gives us all the tools we need to attain our primary goal: Winning the Word Series here in Seattle.”

Dipoto was hired by the Mariners as general manager in late 2015 after serving in that same role with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He has been a front office executive since 2001, after retiring as a pitcher after an eight-year MLB career.

Servais was hired shortly after Dipoto to serve as Mariners manager and is the second-winningest manager in team history with a record of 419-422 since 2016. Servais currently has the Mariners just 3.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox for the second American League Wild Card spot with a month remaining in the regular season.

“Scott has done a terrific job in defining our team’s culture as one that is driven by process, hard work and heart,” Dipoto said. “That has allowed us to bring young, talented players to the Majors over the past three years and see them adjust and succeed as we build towards a team that competes for championships on an annual basis. The resiliency our club has shown in overcoming challenges on, and off, the field over the past two years have been a direct result of Scott’s leadership of the team and coaching staff.”

“I am very positive about the makeup and direction of our team, in 2021 and beyond, so it’s exciting for me to look ahead to being with this group in this city for years to come,” Servais said. “And I want to be sure to acknowledge the key role the coaches and other staff have played in the successes we’ve had here. The support I’ve received from Jerry and (assistant general manager Justin Hollander, and John and his partners and the fans has meant a lot to me. We have everything we need in Seattle to be successful and that will continue to be my focus.”

Prior to joining the Mariners, Servais spent the last 10 years in player development. In his final four years before joining Seattle, Servais was assistant general manager under Dipoto with the Angels.

Servais, like Dipoto, also had a lengthy MLB career. Servais played as a catcher from 1991 to 2001 with four different teams. He also won a Gold Medal at the 1988 Olympics.

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