Dipoto: Mariners still have time, engaged in several possible deals

The Mariners have made three moves since Saturday, but time is running out before a likely MLB lockout when the clock turns from 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to midnight Thursday for Seattle to pull anything else off.

Oh, but the Mariners are very much trying to sneak another deal or two under the wire.

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On a special Wednesday edition of 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jerry Dipoto Show, the Mariners president of baseball operations and general manager said they still have time to get work done and are continuing to try and add to the roster.

“We can absolutely do deals,” Dipoto responded when asked by Mike Salk if there was enough time left before the lockout. “We’re still approaching this as if, you know, today’s another business day, and we’ve got our hands in a couple of different trade talks and we’re still engaged with a few free agents. And you know, I can’t say one way or the other whether we will get anything done, but I also wouldn’t say it’s impossible.”

The Mariners’ offseason got moving Saturday morning when they acquired All-Star second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier from the San Diego Padres in a trade. The really big news came on Monday when reports surfaced that Seattle had agreed with 2021 American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray on a five-year contract, a move that was made official Tuesday night. And on Wednesday morning, the M’s announced a contract extension with Andrés Muñoz, a 22-year-old fireballing reliever who could be their closer of the future.

And that’s not all Dipoto and his team have been up to.

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“From picking up Adam Frazier to obviously now signing Robbie Ray, we did a fun extension with with Andrés Muñoz, it’s been a very active couple of weeks here, and in between a ton of flights and Zooms and meetings with various free agents,” Dipoto said. “It’s really interesting to get to know people you didn’t know very well before, so it’s been great couple of weeks.”

So what’s left on Dipoto’s shopping list? According to a tweet by ESPN’s Buster Olney on Wednesday morning, the Mariners were said to be working on signing a third baseman the night before. As for what Dipoto himself said, there is certainly room for both more hitters in Seattle’s lineup and pitchers in their starting rotation.

“We want to add the one more bat, and minimally one more bat. We think there’s potentially room for two,” he said. “But you know, it depends on where that that lies, and now we have the flexibility of focusing on the offensive impact wherever that might land, and that’s what the Adam Frazier acquisition really does for us. We would like to continue to add depth to the starting rotation. If there’s an opportunity to add that one more arm there, that would be great. So whether that be via free agency or trade, we’re open to all avenues, but those are the things we’d still like to get done.”

The Jerry Dipoto Show will take a break if there is an MLB lockout, as Dipoto won’t be able to talk to the media during that time, but it will return to its usual 8:30 a.m. Thursday timeslot during The Mike Salk Show on 710 ESPN Seattle once the league gets back to work. You can find the podcast of this week’s edition at this link or in the player below.

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