Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto met with the media in a Zoom call Monday afternoon to discuss the re-signing of Jorge Polanco, and he also took questions about the Mariners’ offseason in general as the team prepares to report to spring training in the next two weeks.

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The team that will reports to Arizona will look much like the team that departed T-Mobile Park following Game 162 last September, falling just shy of a playoff appearance for a second straight season. Dipoto indicated that week to the media that he didn’t anticipate much offseason movement around the team outside of finding a platoon partner for Luke Raley at first base and filling one of the open spots at second or third base.

While he wouldn’t comment on budget specifics, it was clear early on that if big moves were to be made, they would come via trade with Dipoto’s spending money in the $15-20 million range. No surprise, there was plenty of opportunity to trade with the Mariners receiving inquiries this winter on all five starting pitchers.

“We had more than a few deals that made you scratch your head and say, ‘Hey, what do you think guys?’” Dipoto said Monday. “But by and large, we just feel like the value of what the pitching staff as a whole provides us, there’s a reason why we were so good. And you know, why disrupt? We’re about our pitching. We’re going to lean into it and this is this is who we are.”

Optimistic on offense

For a second straight offseason, Dipoto listened on starting pitching but ultimately decided to not disrupt. What he saw at the end of the 2024 season with the offense perhaps made that decision easier for him. In late September, Dipoto touted improvements that showed what the Mariners’ offense could be after Dan Wilson was named manager and Edgar Martinez interim hitting coach. That belief has carried through the winter.

“We have a good offensive team and we didn’t feel like we needed to do a whole lot but to find ways to support the group that we had,” Dipoto said. “I know the offseason has been long and seemingly slow. We do feel like we made a lot of progress last year and the additions of (Randy) Arozarena, (Victor) Robles, (Donovan) Solano and a healthy Jorge Polanco, with what we think will be bounceback seasons from a couple of guys who didn’t have their best years, stand to be positives for us.”

Not liking where the trade market was taking them, Dipoto turned back to free agent Polanco, who the team had kept in contact with throughout the offseason.

“We were satisfied with where he was from a health perspective,” he said, noting the 31 year old has looked more explosive in his movements and better able to stop after such bursts. “We were excited that he was optimistic about how he felt and about returning to the Mariners. He now knows our ballpark, he knows our manager and staff, and I thought it was a real positive he chose to be here.”

Dipoto believes moving Polanco from second base to third base will be better for Polanco’s health, and a better fit for the roster overall with Dylan Moore and Ryan Bliss better at second base, and prospect Cole Young, a natural shortstop who has played quite a bit of second base, better up the middle.

The importance of the bullpen

It will be a somewhat but not dramatically different look both offensively and defensively for the Mariners in 2025. Will it be enough to compete in an AL West of teams that have also made changes? Dipoto believes that, coupled with another area where he sees improvement, it can be.

“We feel like we’re right in the mix,” he said. “I think the early projection systems feel like we’re right in the mix. A real positive for us is the expected healthy returns of (relief pitchers) Gregory Santos and Matt Brash. It’s maybe the thing that got us most in the last two months of last season was a bullpen that got tired. We pushed really hard on Andrés Muñoz and Austin Voth and Trent Thornton early (last season), and they were all pitching a lot and in very high leverage all the time. I think having guys like Santos, Brash and more time from Troy Taylor give us a lot of opportunity to improve in that area as well.”

Seattle Mariners injury updates

The Mariners could possibly start the season without Taylor, who had a strong debut as a rookie in late 2024, with Dipoto reporting the 23-year-old right-hander suffered a lat strain last week doing workouts.

“We’re going to take it easy on him when we get started,” Dipoto said. “He’s more TBD and we would expect there is at least some potential he is going to have to start the season down in Arizona (at extended spring training) as he ramps up.”

The news continues to be optimistic with Brash, who underwent Tommy John surgery last May.

“Matt’s had a great rehab,” Dipoto said. “He has really not had a roadblock to date. Our present timeline is that we should get him back somewhere around the third week of April, which is pretty exciting. Obviously, that’s tentative. It could change and obviously wouldn’t be at all shocking if he did experience some setback as he starts to ramp up to game mode, but we haven’t seen that yet.”

A healthy Brash will be a welcome sight in Peoria. Missing will be an array of new faces, although Dipoto allowed for the possibility of another move before the offseason clock ticks down.

“We’re still open if the opportunity to add exists out there,” he said, “but we feel like it’s a good team. And if this is our team going into spring training or opening day, we’re pretty excited by it.”

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Goldsmith weighs in on Seattle Mariners’ second base situation
• Which M’s prospect has best shot to hit star potential? Law weighs in
• One thing about Mariners’ reunion with Polanco gives Salk pause
• Drayer: Jorge Polanco is answer for Mariners’ infield — with question marks
• Seattle Mariners Notebook: Non-roster invitees for spring training set

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