Jerry Dipoto has shown that he isn’t afraid of risking the future of the Seattle Mariners in exchange for a playoff appearance.
A week ago he traded for relief pitcher David Phelps, vastly improving the Mariners’ bullpen. Less than 24 hours later, Dipoto acquired Marco Gonzalez from the Cardinals, for pure pitching depth.
However, those trades cost the team its top two prospects — Kyle O’Neill and Brayan Hernandez, and Dipoto reportedly isn’t finished dealing either.
According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Mariners are interested in acquiring Sonny Gray before Monday’s trade deadline.
MORE: A's Sonny Gray could help these playoff contenders
Feinsand attributes his source saying that, “[Dipoto] is going for it these next two years.”
The loss of O’Neill and Hernandez is an inclination of wanting to succeed.
Gray has spent the past five seasons with the Oakland Athletics. This season he's 6-4 with a 3.66 ERA. In 2015, he finished third in the AL Cy Young race.
Sonny Gray had all the pups tails wagging with his performance today - 6 innings of shutout ball, 5 K's, 2 hits https://t.co/1MQ3C9DH2z’ pic.twitter.com/2lUqb3H8IN
— A's on NBCS (@NBCSAthletics) July 15, 2017
While Gray’s numbers have declined slightly of late, a friendly contract of $3.57 million keeps him as the premiere name at the deadline.
With a handful of teams set to compete with the Mariners in the Sonny Gray sweepstakes, Dipoto should expect to part ways with a few pieces he has touted highly — including outfielder Kyle Lewis.
Feinsand lists Lewis as the main piece that would go back to Oakland if a deal is completed. Lewis is Seattle’s prized outfielder and the MLB’s No. 47 ranked prospect.