The Seattle Mariners are expected to retain Jerry Dipoto as the team's president of baseball operations even if they miss the playoffs, according to Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. The Mariners entered Friday with a 71-70 record that puts them 4 1/2 games back in the American League West and five games back in the AL wild-card hunt, making it more likely than not that they'll fall short of October baseball for the second year in a row.
Mariners general manager Justin Hollander is also expected to return in his role. The Mariners elevated Hollander to that position last offseason.
Dipoto, 56, has helmed the Mariners baseball operations department since September 2015. The Mariners have made the playoffs just once during his tenure (with that coming in 2022, a postseason appearance that ended a 21-year drought), but they are on track to record a fourth consecutive winning season.
Nevertheless, the Mariners made one notable personnel change last month, replacing skipper Scott Servais with longtime Seattle catcher Dan Wilson. Servais' dismissal came on the heels of a collapse. The Mariners led the AL West by 10 games on June 18. A month later, that lead was gone. Servais reportedly learned first of his firing from social media rather than from Dipoto or the Mariners directly -- a regrettable faux pas.
Mariners since 2021
| Year | Record | Playoffs? |
|---|---|---|
2024 | 71-70 | 10.9% chance per SportsLine |
2023 | 88-74 | No |
2022 | 90-72 | Yes, lost in ALDS |
| 2021 | 90-72 | No |
Dipoto also received backlash last fall when he proclaimed that his long-term goal was to win 54% of games. "We're actually doing the fanbase a favor by asking for their patience to win the World Series while we continue to build a sustainably good roster," he said at the time.
The Mariners will open a weekend series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. They have three games remaining against the Houston Astros, suggesting they'll need to gain ground before then to maximize their opportunity of catching up.
