Mariners’ Dipoto on top prospects staying put at deadline
Jul 31, 2024, 11:29 AM | Updated: 6:24 pm
When the dust settled at the MLB trade deadline, the Seattle Mariners came away with four new players to contribute to their push for an American League West title.
Drayer: Seattle Mariners navigated thin market for deadline adds
They also walked away with every big-name prospects in their loaded farm system.
In the weeks leading up to the deadline, it was widely thought at least, or more, of the organization’s touted, young players like Cole Young, Harry Ford or Colt Emerson would be shipped out for reinforcements. Instead, they’re staying put. That followed a trend that developed this season with none of Baseball America top 100 prospects heading to new suitors.
Why exactly did that happen? President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto touched on the topic from the Mariners’ perspective during a conversation about the trade deadline with Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Wednesday.
Quantity over quality
The biggest deal Seattle made at the deadline was acquiring left fielder Randy Arozarena from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for prospects Aidan Smith, Brody Hopkins and a player to be named later.
Arozarena, a 2023 All-Star with club control through 2026, was one of the biggest bats to be dealt to any team. Yet, the Mariners, who have eight players ranked in Baseball American’s top 100 and six in MLB Pipeline’s, didn’t part with one of their slew of top 100 prospects in the process.
Some of that has to do with the way teams value prospects as opposed to the scouting sites. Dipoto noted Baseball America and MLB Pipeline are fairly close to how teams see it but that Smith, who was previously ranked as Seattle’s No. 12 prospect by Pipeline, was somebody Seattle internally viewed as a top-10 prospect in its system.
“I would say Baseball America and MLB.com specifically are in the right buckets and they don’t miss many, but we know so much more about our players,” Dipoto said. “I would say from a scouting perspective, other teams around the league do the same. The fact that no one on the top-100 list from MLB.com and Baseball America was traded has been broadcast over the last 24 hours, but we traded a player we thought was inside our top ten, and eight of our top ten prospects are on those lists.
“We thought Aidan Smith was among that group and so did the Rays, frankly.”
When asked if the Mariners had any offers on the table that included a top prospect like Ford, Young or Emerson, Dipoto mention anyone specifically, but gave some insight to how the trade process works.
“We have been pretty open about this, that when we talk to other teams, we will generally be open to anything, and suggesting which players we will move in a certain trade is relative to the player you’re acquiring,” Dipoto said. “So how these talks go is at the very start of it – we’ll use Randy Arozarena as a an example – the Rays might ask, ‘If we put Arozarena in play, who’s off limits for you?’ You might pick a name, two or three.”
It’s becoming more prevalent for teams to pick multiple prospects rather one bigger name.
“You’ve got a better chance of hitting by getting multiple good prospects than one fabulous prospect,” Dipoto said. “It’s a weird development in this generation, but what’s become more and more prominent is trying to gather as many potential major leagues as you can.”
Listen to the full conversation about the MLB trade deadline with Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
More on Seattle Mariners and the trade deadline
• Mariners strike deal with Marlins, reunite with veteran reliever
• A closer look at Mariners trade acquisition Justin Turner
• Mariners trade DFA’d first baseman Ty France to Reds
• Mariners send reliever Ryne Stanek to Mets for minor league OF
• Mariners keep dealing, land Blue Jays reliever Yimi García
