AL West title ‘a realistic goal’ for Mariners
SEATTLE — Jerry Dipoto may be as clear as any MLB government, however presently of yr, he could be selective along with his phrases.
The Mariners’ president of baseball operations was amongst many membership personnel to talk over a two-hour Spring Training preview at T-Mobile Park on Wednesday, a platform by which he’s requested about sensible objectives for the upcoming season. Two years in the past, nonetheless in rebuild territory, Dipoto stated “competing for a playoff spot” was sensible, then Seattle remained alive till the season’s closing day. Last yr, he focused a Wild Card spot as respectable, and the Mariners went on to get in and advance.
The subsequent step? An American League West title, a purpose that’s reached this territory solely thrice and never since 2001, the long-lasting yr that can maybe be additional distanced after the 2022 membership ended the drought. Is the 2023 crew, in Dipoto’s eyes, one that may hold that banner?
“We feel like that’s a realistic goal,” Dipoto stated. “And we’re going to do the best we can. … We’ve never been more convinced of this team’s ability to do those things than we were at the end of last season. So I think that goes for all the players in the clubhouse, because for us in the front office, our staff, we do feel like we got meaningfully better this offseason. And we are a deeper, more complete team than we were at the end of last season.”
Claiming the AL West crown would require dethroning the Astros, who the Mariners performed so tensely throughout a three-game sweep within the AL Division Series final October, together with a season-ending loss in Game 3 that lasted 18 innings. Manager Scott Servais stated that the Mariners had been “probably one swing of the bat away from winning all three of those games,” reiterating how shut the membership was to a shocking upset.
But a best-of-five sequence is the inverse of the marathon common season, the place second-place Seattle was outpaced by 106-win Houston by 16 video games.
The Astros are returning almost everybody other than Justin Verlander — who leaves an enormous void, however in a rotation able to filling it — and so they’ve upgraded at first base by including 2020 AL MVP José Abreu. In Arlington, the Rangers’ technique of spending their method to the highest hasn’t labored, however they’re objectively improved after bolstering their rotation with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. In Anaheim, the Angels haven’t been capable of win with baseball’s two greatest gamers, however they’ve added established expertise.
“We’re not the only team that’s gotten better,” Servais stated. “Our division has gotten better. Everybody has made some moves to improve, so it’ll be very competitive.”
Seattle’s greatest additions had been early — nook outfielder Teoscar Hernández in a commerce with Toronto and second baseman Kolten Wong in a take care of Milwaukee, each upgrades from their incumbents — and it not too long ago added outfielder AJ Pollock and infielder Tommy La Stella, veterans eyeing platoons. The roster’s nucleus now will seemingly stay into Opening Day.
“The start of the season isn’t Game 162,” Dipoto stated. “The start of the season is Game 1, and we’ll take it from there, like we have in the last couple of years, where, whether it be from within our own system or players that join us from elsewhere, we are invested in continuing to get better, whatever that means. The goal is to win the division.”
Much of the entrance workplace’s calculus in 2023 roster building — particularly as would-be free-agent targets signed elsewhere approaching $300 million — has been, on the baseline, key contributors not simply matching their ‘22 manufacturing, however taking one other step, a logical technique however one not with out threat.
“What do we expect coming into ’23? For them to take that next step like they have in almost every month of their Major League [careers],” Dipoto stated. “We have so many guys that are still in the growth phase of their career, who are already good Major League players that have a chance to step forward and be better than good.”
On the heels of successive 90-win seasons, the Mariners additionally now have invaluable postseason expertise — and so they firmly intend to construct on it in 2023.
“This is the deepest team we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Servais stated. “From our starting pitching to the bullpen to the regular lineup to the guys on the bench, they can all play and they’ll play a huge role in allowing us to get back to the playoffs — and hopefully, like I said, winning the division.”
