Dipoto has done some nice things this offseason with the trades for Dee Gordon and Ryon Healy. But the big hubbub of the first day of the winter meetings — the introduction of Giancarlo Stanton as a New York Yankee — underscores the challenge the Mariners are facing.
ORLANDO, Fla. — To Jerry Dipoto, the question hung there like a batting-practice fastball, waist high: Did the Mariners’ failure to sign Shohei Ohtani, coupled with his decision to join a division rival, add any urgency to Seattle’s offseason building plans?
“Not really,” he said pointedly. “As you may have ascertained, we’re pretty urgent.