Dipoto: Mariners roster as deep, culture ‘most stable’ as it’s been
Mar 22, 2023, 11:26 AM
Julio Rodríguez high fives Cal Raleigh after scoring for the Mariners against the Blue Jays on July 7, 2022. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
There’s plenty of buzz around the 2023 Seattle Mariners, and for good reason.
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The M’s got the monkey off their back last season when they made it to the postseason for the first time since 2001. Now, the majority of that roster returns and Seattle is again seen as a top contender in the American League.
As you might expect, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto is plenty excited about his team, as he explained to Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob, who are down in Peoria, Ariz., this week at spring training.
“When you’re around this group, this is the most enjoyable spring training we’ve ever had,” Dipoto said.
And there’s multiple reasons why Dipoto feels that way.
“Some of it is just stability – we have fewer questions to answer than we’ve ever had in our time here with the Mariners. I know that’s true for (manager Scott Servais), as well,” Dipoto said.
The good feelings about the Mariners go beyond just the amount of talent the team has.
“This is the most stable our culture has ever been,” Dipoto said. “When we first got here, it was a culture that we were trying to develop. Now, it’s a culture that takes care of itself and it’s player-driven. We’ve got great leadership among our veteran players, we’ve got a lot of energy among our young players and we have a ton of talent in this camp.”
Dipoto told Wyman and Bob that he did a radio interview with MLB earlier the same the day, and it was clear when going through the team’s roster that the Mariners have a very complete club.
“We have a good defense, we have an excellent starting rotation, we have a deep bullpen and we have a lineup that minimally is six deep and with what we’re watching happening in spring training here – which was our hope – we feel like this is going to be the deepest 1-9 lineup we’ve put up,” Dipoto said. “… Now whether we can convert the goodness of that offense into more run scoring, that’s going to be on us. But we have the elements to do that. And when you consider all the different pieces that you need to put in place to be a contending club, this is it.”
There’s no shortage of confidence with these Mariners, either.
“We’re good, we know we’re good, the teams around us believe we’re good and our players carry themselves like they know (we’re good),” Dipoto said. “They want there to be expectations, and they have those amongst themselves and they carry themselves with confidence. They’re working their tails off. It’s not a ‘look at what we accomplished a year ago’ (mentality). Yeah, we made it to the postseason, (but) that’s done and now we’re focused on this one.”
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