By that, he means the health of the organization, not necessarily the major league record. Predictably, the Mariners have slumped since their hot start, falling to 19-19 overall after fumbling the lead in a 5-4 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday. They led the majors in homers, with 71, but also in errors, with 41.
“We are a team that has been full of extremes so far,” right fielder Jay Bruce said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out.”
For Bruce, who has a .196 average but 11 homers, it could play out as it has twice before – with a midseason trade to a contender. The Mets acquired him 2016, traded him in 2017, then re-signed him and dealt him to Seattle in a deal for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz last November.
The prospects the Mets gave up in that deal — outfielder Jarred Kelenic and starter Justin Dunn — have thrived in the minors this season. So has shortstop J.P. Crawford, a faded prospect for Philadelphia who arrived in a trade for shortstop Jean Segura and may soon be called up to Seattle.
The pitchers the Yankees dealt for the left-hander James Paxton – Justus Sheffield and Erik Swanson – have already been promoted. Outfielder Domingo Santana, a forgotten man in Milwaukee who was acquired for outfielder Ben Gamel, has been among the league leaders in runs batted in.
The way Dipoto sees it, the team is likely to be about the same as it was before: competitive, if not a true championship contender. But this version has a deeper well of talent in the minors, which Dipoto could improve if he trades veterans like Edwin Encarnacion this summer.
“We felt like, ‘Well, we’ve been fifth or sixth in the league in general over the last handful of years, and if we pull back but we don’t tear down to the studs, we’re probably still in the middle of the pack, but we’ve set ourselves up so much better for the future by doing that,’” Dipoto said.