Former Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto named Mariners GM

Former Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto has been named the Mariners’ new executive vice president and general manager of baseball operations, the team announced Monday afternoon.

“I’m honored to be joining the Mariners family,” Dipoto, 47, said in a press release. “As the 2015 season draws to a close, we have a great fan base, ballpark and organization, providing a great opportunity for success. I truly look forward to both the challenges and rewards to come as we chart a fresh course for the future of Mariners baseball.”

A month to the day after Jack Zduriencik was fired, the position has been filled by the man who was considered by many to be the front-runner all along.

“Jerry impressed us at each step of the process,” team president Kevin Mather said in the release. “He has a very unique skill set, having been a successful player in the Majors, then moving into front offices with steadily increasing responsibilities. Jerry has scouted, spent time in player development and has a track record as a very successful general manager.

“I am looking forward to having Jerry lead our baseball operations for a long time.”

While the interview process was held completely out of the eye of the public, Mather had stated his preference in a number of interviews at the start of the search for a person who had previous experience as a GM. Dipoto has that, having held the position with the Angels from October 2011 to when he resigned July 1 after reported disagreements between the Anaheim front office and the coaching staff over the use of analytics.

While Dipoto made headlines in Anaheim for disputes over the use of his staff’s reports, he should bring a good mix of both analytics and scouting to the position as his career in baseball began on the field. A third-round pick of the Cleveland Indians in the 1989 draft, Dipoto had an eight-year big league career pitching as a reliever for the Indians, Mets and Rockies. That unique background was a big factor in him winning the job.

“During our conversations over the past few weeks, it became clear to me that he has a very solid understanding of our team and organization, both where we are and where we want to be,” Mather said. “And he has a strategy to get us there. Few candidates bring the combination of playing the game, scouting, a solid understanding of statistical metrics and a plan for player development.”

Before joining the Angels, Dipoto was the interim GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks after Josh Byrnes was fired in 2010. He also held the position of vice president of player personnel with Arizona and was asked to stay with the organization after finishing as the runner-up to Kevin Towers for the GM position as the vice president of scouting and player development. One year later he became GM of the Angels.

The Angels went 306-258 with Dipoto at the helm and put up a MLB best 98-64 record in 2014. In his tenure with the team Dipoto presided over two enormous free agent signings – both of which team owner Arte Moreno had a heavy hand in – Albert Pujols at $240 million over 10 years, and Josh Hamilton for a five-year, $125 million dollar deal in 2013.

A number of people in baseball have pointed to scouting pitching as one of Dipoto’s greatest strengths. Most of his more notable trades with the Angels were for pitching as he acquired Zack Greinke, Jason Vargas (in a trade with the Mariners for Kendrys Morales), Fernando Salas, Andrew Heaney, Jason Grilli, Trevor Gott and Huston Street in a number of deals. He traded current Mariner outfielder Mark Trumbo for Hector Santiago and Tyler Skaggs.

Dipoto, from Toms River, N.J., was a finalist for the position with the Mariners in 2008 when Zduriencik was hired.

The team will officially introduce Dipoto at a press conference Tuesday at Safeco Field.

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