Jerry Dipoto: Rest during All-Star break could be big for Mariners

As one of the teams in the thick of the American League’s race for two Wild Card playoff spots, it’s easy to see how a few transactions could make the Seattle Mariners more competitive. They just may not need to come from outside the organization.

Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto told 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Danny, Dave and Moore” that his team could be back in line for a run after next week’s All-Star break when their pitching staff gets healthier. At the moment, they have both Felix Hernandez and Taijuan Walker on the disabled list instead of in the rotation, and the bullpen has a handful of arms out of action.

“Right now I think the best trades we can make are getting our own guys healthy,” Dipoto said Thursday. “If you bring back Felix and Taijuan, there aren’t going to be higher-impact arms on the market than that. We bring back Nick Vincent after the break and get him added to our bullpen and everybody’s able to re-situate in their roles again, that will be a big boost, as will adding Charlie Furbush. I think the break might do us better than most teams just because we need to get healthy.”

That doesn’t mean Dipoto is ruling out any deals before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline – as a buyer or as a seller.

“You go into every trade deadline with the idea of buying and selling,” said Dipoto, who was Anaheim’s GM from 2011 to midway through last season. “We’re just looking to be as opportunistic as we can be, and every way that we can get better in the short-term or better in the long – and ideally at both – we will take advantage of that.

“As we get down toward the deadline, we can then determine what makes the most sense for the organization. But if we have a chance to get better in the short and the long, we’ll take advantage of it. If not, we can’t force it.”

Listen to “The Jerry Dipoto Show” from Thursday’s edition of “Danny, Dave and Moore” right here.

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