Former Angels GM Jerry Dipoto didn’t stay a special assistant with the Red Sox for too long. On Monday, he was named as the new general manager of the Seattle Mariners, replacing Jack Zduriencik.
#Mariners name Jerry Dipoto new General Manager. Press conference tomorrow at 10 a.m. More: http://t.co/PYGi9exec9 pic.twitter.com/yna8ZvwKc2
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 28, 2015
Dipoto came under plenty of scrutiny during his time with the Angels because of the massive contracts he handed out to Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, and CJ Wilson, among others. But the prevailing sentiment surrounding those moves is that they were largely influenced by owner Arte Moreno, and that Moreno and Mike Scioscia were calling the shots in Anaheim.
In Seattle, Dipoto will be dealing with another owner who likes to meddle in Howard Lincoln, though not to the degree Moreno did with the Angels. Dipoto will also inherit a number of long-term contracts with the Mariners, though the only one that is truly apprehensive is the eight years and $192 million left on Robinson Cano’s contract.
The Mariners were a preseason favorite in the American League, but came out of the gate slowly and never recovered. It’ll be interesting to see what ends up happening under Dipoto’s watch this winter – will he manage to bring back Hisashi Iwakuma? Is he going to gut the minor league instructional system in an effort to improve the progression of several highly touted prospects that never panned out? Will Lloyd McClendon return?
Seattle got their guy in Dipoto, and expectations will be set high for the team going forward – there won’t be a Mariners rebuild in 2016, and anything short of contention could turn this into a short tenure for Dipoto.
