Seattle Mariners' Jerry Dipoto Talks About Josh Naylor Trade, Ichiro, Trade Deadline, and MORE!

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President of baseball operations for the
0:02
Seattle Mariners. Jerry Dotto is on the
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line. What's going on, Jerry? Good
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morning. Thanks for the time. Jim Duket
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and Jim Bowden.
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Jerry, you there?
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Yeah. Yeah. Can you hear me?
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I got you now, Jerry. Um, first of all,
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I know you're up there in uh Coopertown
0:23
uh today for the Hall of Fame. Uh, and I
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want to get to that in a minute because
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of each of course. But Jerry, first of
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all, congratulations to be able to sit
0:31
there and trade for the biggest need
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this team had and to do it a week before
0:37
the deadline and grab a guy that a year
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ago hit 30, drove in 100 for Cleveland,
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help Cleveland get to the ALCS. I felt
0:45
like that was the missing piece that you
0:48
guys had. I now believe strongly that
0:51
this is a team that can get to the World
0:53
Series right here, right now. Take us
0:55
through how this deal came about, how
0:57
quickly it was done, when you found out
1:00
Arizona was going to be sellers, and how
1:01
you were able to close it so quickly.
1:05
You know, I there's a lot to unpack
1:07
there, but this kind of goes back to
1:09
last off season. And you know, when Josh
1:11
was still with Cleveland, we had
1:13
inquired with the with the tribe about
1:15
bringing him over here. And obviously we
1:17
we didn't do it at that time and he
1:20
wound up headed to Arizona and and we've
1:22
stayed in touch with the Diamondbacks
1:24
throughout wondering which direction
1:26
they might go and and truly until
1:28
Thursday morning we didn't have any kind
1:30
of clarity and we had talked to them
1:32
about a number of different trade
1:34
mechanics and and how it might look and
1:37
and ultimately on Thursday in in about
1:39
an hour we went from you know zero to 60
1:42
and we were able to finish a deal pretty
1:44
quickly.
1:46
Well, that went what went fast for sure.
1:49
Take us through if you would, you know,
1:51
it's really JB mentioned really almost
1:53
perfect fit. Like it really is a really
1:55
good fit. But as you kind of see the
1:57
lineup, where do you expect him uh to to
2:01
be hitting, you know, and then based on
2:03
your obviously your conversations with
2:05
Dan and then, you know, is it all first
2:08
base? Is it a combination of first base
2:10
to YH? Like how do you look at him in
2:12
the field?
2:14
So, I would say, you know, these first
2:16
couple of days he's hitting fourth for
2:18
us and and it's a really good spot. You
2:20
know, we've got Julio in the two-hole
2:22
and Julio starting to really trend and
2:24
he's getting hot, which is, you know,
2:25
the this time of year is generally what
2:27
Julio does. And uh Cal Raleigh's having
2:30
the year of his life and and we're all
2:32
along for the ride and he's hitting
2:33
third and you know previously we had
2:36
Randy Rosarena in the four hole and then
2:38
we would get into this pocket of lefty
2:40
hitters you know and dropping Josh in
2:42
the four hole and then bumping Rail
2:44
Randy to five who's also having a great
2:46
year. you know, it allowed us to break
2:48
up the the left-hand bats and and have a
2:50
couple of lefties and switches spread
2:53
through the lineup and and made us less
2:55
susceptible to a left-hand reliever just
2:57
blowing through us, which is weird to
2:59
say by acquiring another left-hand
3:00
hitter, but this one is a left-hand
3:02
hitter who can hit square in the middle.
3:04
Yeah, not only square in the middle,
3:06
though. I was making the point that it's
3:07
square in the middle in October, too,
3:09
right? And that's what I want. You need
3:11
a hitter that's going to hit the the
3:13
playoff pitching, right? And Naylor does
3:15
that. And and I just I mean look, a
3:17
Rosarine is at having an unbelievable
3:19
stretch here. We always knew he was
3:21
capable of doing, but now we're seeing
3:23
it. Like now it's here. Like I feel like
3:25
every night he's home ringing for you.
3:26
Cal Raleigh right now is the MVP of the
3:28
league. The injured Aaron Judge may just
3:31
give him that 40 home runs and and an
3:33
elite framer. Like all the pieces are
3:35
there. JRod always has a great second
3:37
half as you mentioned. And then you got
3:39
all five starters finally healthy,
3:40
right? You had to deal with injuries to
3:42
start the year, right? you lost two two
3:44
of your key starters to get that. But
3:46
now over the last month that has really
3:48
stabilized. You got an impact closer at
3:50
the back end. I mean, this is this is
3:52
exciting stuff, Jerry. And to me, the
3:55
most important thing for a GM or or
3:57
president is to stand up and make the
3:59
big move in the middle of a pennet race
4:01
when it's needed the most. Like that is
4:03
the most important job of why you get
4:05
paid, I think. And you just did that.
4:07
Now I got to ask you, are you done?
4:11
No, that's not the plan. You know, we we
4:13
do have other things we'd like to add,
4:15
areas we'd like to beef up and, you
4:17
know, and I do think one of the you hit
4:19
on it early. You know, being able to
4:21
acquire Josh a week out from the trade
4:23
deadline allows us to to let it come to
4:25
us a little bit. And, you know, we were
4:28
very aggressive in in our initial
4:30
vetting and and we got after it pretty
4:32
good in in hammering the phone calls
4:34
with the various clubs we thought fit
4:35
for us and and we found a perfect fit
4:38
for first base and in the middle of the
4:39
lineup and and we do have some other,
4:41
you know, areas would like to address
4:44
you, not the least of which is like
4:45
every other team in the postseason hunt
4:47
would like to add to that bull.
4:49
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. G give us a sense
4:51
if you would, Jerry. uh uh phone calls
4:54
obviously are going out and coming in,
4:55
but you know, there's been a couple of
4:58
uh GMs that have said, you know, they
5:00
expected it to get really busy after
5:01
today. Is that your your sense like the
5:04
just kind of the in the in the moment or
5:06
you think there's there's some things
5:07
that maybe you could even do today?
5:11
You know, I I think today's generally
5:12
going to be a quiet day, but you know,
5:14
we had multiple conversations with clubs
5:17
that generally, and this is maybe
5:19
midweek, last week, hey, this isn't
5:22
going anywhere. We won't do anything
5:23
without talking to you. Let's reconnect
5:25
on Monday. So, I do suspect that that
5:28
starting tomorrow, it's going to get
5:29
very interesting. And, you know, it's uh
5:31
we've hopefully we're able to to
5:33
seamlessly travel out of Coopertown so
5:35
it it doesn't catch us. But, you know,
5:38
the next couple days are fun and like
5:40
Jim said, this is this is kind of why we
5:42
do our jobs is is the excitement. This
5:44
is when you feel like you can make, you
5:46
know, an impact and and really help the
5:48
team in real time and and then just get
5:50
out of their way and watch them play.
5:52
Yeah. And sometimes it takes a couple
5:53
years to get it right. Right. I mean, so
5:56
last year's moves you made significant
5:58
for this year and now now you you make
6:00
this huge move. Um, you know, you'd
6:02
always talked about one of the infield
6:04
corners, first or third base, and there
6:06
was a lot of talk about a Yuenio Suarez
6:09
as well, which makes sense. The thing I
6:10
like about Naylor is you didn't have to
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give up your you gave up talent. I get
6:13
it, right? But you didn't have to give
6:15
up your any of your top top prospects to
6:17
be able to land him. And then, you know,
6:19
I was as I don't know how to answer,
6:21
right? Because I can't sit there and ask
6:22
you on the record, but I I I was asked
6:24
the question about, okay, would they go
6:26
get Suarez now? I'm like, I don't I
6:28
don't think they need to because you got
6:30
the plus+ defender at third base in
6:32
Williamson, right? And now I think your
6:34
lineup is good enough to score runs. And
6:36
so when you're trying to balance
6:37
offense, defense, not that you wouldn't
6:39
want another, you know, 40 home run bat,
6:41
don't get me wrong, but you know, I kind
6:43
of felt like your next thing would
6:44
probably be the bullpin as you just
6:46
mentioned, just keep adding to the
6:47
pitching. Um, is that accurate? Or if
6:50
you had an opportunity to upgrade at
6:51
third base with an impact bat, are you
6:53
still open to that?
6:55
No, I think we're open to any way we can
6:57
get better. And you know, third base, I
6:59
will say this, Ben Williamson at not a
7:02
whole lot of minor league time before he
7:05
was run into the big leagues. We had a a
7:07
weird set of circumstances and he's been
7:09
exactly what we could have hoped him to
7:11
to be. And and here we are, we're in
7:13
July and we're in a pennant race. And I
7:15
think most days you want them to hit Ben
7:17
Williamson the ball for the last out of
7:20
the game. He's he's just been that good
7:21
defensively,
7:22
you know, and he's sitting at the bottom
7:24
of the lineup. He chips in and gives you
7:26
a gritty at bat and and it's not it's
7:28
not a light stick. He just hasn't really
7:30
tapped into his power yet. And um but
7:33
he's 24 years old. We think there's a
7:35
ton of time for him to to contribute. We
7:37
don't want to rob him of his
7:38
opportunities, but you know, if there's
7:40
a way we can get better and and put a
7:42
more impactful team on the field, we
7:44
have to to at least be aware of what
7:47
that is. Mhm. Mhm. Starter starting
7:50
rotations. You guys are back healthy.
7:52
Obviously Miller still on the injured
7:54
list. What are you expecting uh you know
7:56
for him? Like what what's his status at
7:58
the moment?
8:00
So Bryce threw a a two inning live
8:03
session on Friday and and uh you know we
8:06
should be he's built up to about 40
8:07
pitches. His fast ball's back in the mid
8:10
touching 97 and you know he's going to
8:13
now be on a normal you know five six day
8:16
rehab schedule to build him up. If all
8:19
goes well, we should have him back in
8:20
our rotation no later than the middle of
8:23
August, which would be, you know,
8:24
another couple of weeks. And, you know,
8:27
that'd be a pretty exciting addition for
8:28
us. And, you know, the the guys that we
8:31
have, Logan Evans has done a remarkable
8:33
job as a rookie of holding the fort at
8:35
the back end. And, you know, Woo's
8:36
having an all-star season. George and
8:38
Logan have really kind of started to
8:40
round back into form. And Luis Castillo
8:42
has just been steady at it. he just
8:44
turns out the innings and and gives you
8:46
a chance to win more often than not. And
8:48
I I I love our rotation. I think we have
8:51
impact at the back of our bullpen and
8:53
and our lineup now is as long as it's
8:55
been. And I I actually spent some time
8:57
last night with Pat Gillick and I said I
8:59
I don't think it's aggressive to say our
9:00
lineup is about as long as it's been
9:02
since he was he was here doing my job.
9:06
A while.
9:07
Amen. I mean, it's Look, it's good
9:08
enough to run the tail. That's why the
9:10
third base situation is interesting
9:11
because I think the defense is so
9:13
important because you get to the
9:14
postseason, it's pitching and defense,
9:16
right? I mean, you got to score enough
9:17
runs, but pitching and defense is
9:19
usually the team that's popping the
9:20
champagne in October. You know, I look
9:23
at the last 30 days, right? Louie
9:25
Castillo's RA is 2.1. George Kirby's is
9:28
3.3. Brian Woo is 2.3. Logan Gilbert is
9:33
2.0. And as you mentioned with Logan
9:35
Evans, 4.1. Like that's that's five
9:38
starters with Bryce Miller coming back.
9:40
I mean, that's just that's just amazing
9:42
to me. And the lineup is good, but you
9:44
don't talk enough about your defense. I
9:46
mean, this is a really good defensive
9:48
team besides being a, you know, now a
9:50
lengthy lineup, which is special. So, I
9:52
look at it, I keep going bullpen,
9:54
bullpen, bullpen. Let's just grab cuz
9:56
cuz we all watch October now. You you
9:58
got you got to have that bullpen. You
10:00
just you just do. So, is it fair to say
10:03
that's the focus right now? And and by
10:05
the way, your farm system's loaded and
10:07
your owner's going to willing to spend
10:09
some money. I mean, you are equipped to
10:12
make another bang bang doto move.
10:15
Yeah. This is one of our favorite times
10:17
of year, you know, when we put ourselves
10:19
in good position. We've always been
10:21
given the the ability to go out and do
10:23
the fun thing at the deadline. And
10:25
that's, you know, the rocking 22 and
10:27
Randy Rose Arena and friends last year,
10:30
obviously Josh so far and and we are
10:33
dialed on the bullpen and and that makes
10:35
us like just about everybody else who's
10:37
who's trying to get to the finish line.
10:39
But, you know, it's a the bullpen, as
10:41
you know, is they are the late movers.
10:43
And, you know, somewhere in the last,
10:46
you know, day or two and and maybe in
10:48
the last hour or two, you'll start
10:51
seeing some of the the higher impact
10:52
bullpen guys go off the board and and we
10:55
will be as aggressive in that area of
10:57
the market as just about anybody, I
10:58
would imagine.
10:59
God, I love that quote. We're going to
11:01
have to use that like all our promos.
11:03
Hey, I need to ask you about Ichiro
11:04
Suzuki. This is a special day and it's a
11:07
special talent and you know I always
11:09
loved watching him just because in BP he
11:12
would show you that he had 40 home run
11:14
power right but he just you know he
11:16
wanted to be a hitter right not a power
11:18
hitter which who knows what he could
11:20
have done if he wanted to just be a
11:21
power hitter but uh talk to me about
11:23
your relationship with him what you
11:25
witnessed in his career uh the great
11:28
sense of humor he has your anticipation
11:30
of the speech like break down Ichiro for
11:32
all of us
11:34
the speech And I said to him last night
11:36
and we we had obviously a celebratory uh
11:39
dinner party for for Ichiro and and his
11:42
family and just celebrating his his
11:44
election, but unbelievably disciplined
11:48
human being in everything he does. And I
11:51
I remember clearly the the moment that
11:54
stands out for me with Ichro outside of
11:56
meeting him. Actually then met him. We
11:58
signed him in spring training to come
12:00
back to the Mariners for for part two,
12:02
which wound up being, you know, the the
12:04
swan song in his career. And it was a
12:06
storybook finish up in Japan and and uh
12:10
you know, retiring on opening day. It's
12:12
just a a phenomenal story. But I had
12:14
never met Ichiro and you know, we had
12:16
set up a press conference when we signed
12:18
him in spring training and he passed
12:20
along through his agent John Bogs who
12:22
you guys know, great guy. And Bugsy
12:25
said, "Hey, Ichi wants to do something
12:26
casual, you know, maybe maybe slacks,
12:30
you know, golf shirt, simple. He might
12:32
even wear a uniform." I said, "Okay,
12:33
great." You know, and so we I get to the
12:36
the office that day and there's 150
12:38
members of the Japanese media in spring
12:41
training for a Peoria press conference
12:43
and my first reaction when I drove up
12:45
was, "Geez." And uh I'd never met Ichi.
12:48
And he comes walking up the back steps
12:50
to my office and he's wearing about a
12:52
$20,000 suit and his hair is jet black
12:55
and slick back. The sunglasses I'm going
12:58
to I'm going to gauge we're about in the
13:00
5K range. And I and I looked at him and
13:02
my initial, you know, intro to him as I
13:04
I backhanded him in the chest and I
13:06
said, I thought we were going casual.
13:08
And he said, Jerry, this is casual.
13:12
It's just amazing.
13:14
But unbelievable unique talent. Just a
13:18
great guy.
13:19
Oh, that's that's a good story. I I love
13:21
that one. Hey, what I know you're up
13:23
there in Coopertown, by the way. Uh it's
13:25
amazing you have great cell phone
13:27
coverage because hardly anyone ever does
13:28
up there. So, that's impressive itself.
13:30
But, uh what else stands out for you
13:32
today with this ceremony? There's so
13:34
many so many current, you know, guys
13:35
that came you while you're in the front
13:37
office while we were in the front office
13:38
that are going in. But is there one in
13:39
particular besides Ichiro uh that you're
13:42
uh that that you're excited to, you
13:44
know, to listen to his speech?
13:48
You know, sadly, I was really looking
13:50
forward to to hearing Dave Parker
13:52
because, you know, just where I am on
13:54
the age curve when we were growing up.
13:56
Dave Parker for that five, six, eight
13:58
year stretch with the Pirates was was
14:01
as five tool a player as you could
14:03
possibly get. and and I know how long a
14:05
wait he'd had, you know, but sadly we
14:08
won't be able to listen to him. I look
14:09
forward to hearing CeCe. I I think CeCe
14:12
is a remarkable person who has a great
14:14
story to tell and I'm sure his speech is
14:16
going to be pretty riveting because of
14:18
that. Uh you know, last night in the
14:21
plaque room, which is I pinch myself
14:23
every time I get the opportunity. You're
14:25
you're in baseball, you know, heaven and
14:27
you're getting the the back door into
14:29
the plaque room and getting to hobnob
14:31
with the greatest living players. It's
14:34
just a a remarkable scene and and you
14:36
know I I I truly try to remember every
14:39
time how fortunate I am that you get
14:41
invited into those spaces.
14:43
Yeah, no question about it. It's a very
14:45
special room and only the elite of the
14:47
elite get to be there. Jerry, of all the
14:49
years that you've been sitting in that
14:50
GM chair from the Angels to the
14:52
Mariners, it's it's been a minute now.
14:55
Is this the best baseball team you have
14:58
ever assembled in your career?
15:01
You know, I think so. Just on one
15:03
through 26, we had a we had a pretty
15:05
awesome team with the with the Halos
15:07
back in 2014. You know, we had a 98 win
15:10
season, won the West. We had superstars
15:13
and deep rotation, but this team, I
15:15
think, is it it's just deep. Our bullpen
15:18
keeps coming at the the the the guys
15:21
that are coming out to throw the middle
15:23
innings down three are showing you three
15:25
pitches and high 90s. And you know, I I
15:28
I feel like the combination of defense,
15:31
team speed, you know, up and down the
15:33
lineup, our contact has really improved
15:36
and we've always been relatively
15:37
patient. And I think, you know,
15:39
sneakily, we hit homers, you know, I I
15:42
every time we have a two, three, four
15:44
homer game, I I look at Dan Wilson and I
15:46
I give him a thumbs up and I say little
15:48
things, bro. You just hit it over the
15:50
fence. And uh and and I think our
15:52
rotation when we're healthy, we are as
15:54
good as anybody in the league. and and I
15:57
I hope we're able to do the things this
15:59
year that our talent suggests we can
16:01
because I know the character of the guys
16:02
in the room is uh it's I love this team.
16:05
I I love our energy. They love playing
16:07
together. Our staff is awesome and I
16:10
couldn't be more excited for the next
16:11
you know what I hope are 70some games.

Seattle Mariners' Jerry Dipoto Talks About Josh Naylor Trade, Ichiro, Trade Deadline, and MORE!

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Seattle Mariners' Jerry Dipoto Talks About Josh Naylor Trade, Ichiro, Trade Deadline, and MORE!

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