Jerry Dipoto on Kyle Lewis, focus on Hot Stove

If you missed it, Tuesday was unofficially Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis Day on 710 ESPN Seattle with Mariners young star, manager Scott Servais and general manager Jerry Dipoto all of whom have appeared on shows.

Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis is already planning to make another 21 jump

Dipoto took his turn in the afternoon with Tom, Jake and Stacy, and of course he was delighted to see Lewis unanimously take the highest honor for a rookie.

“It’s awesome,” Dipoto said. “Last week was such a great celebration of our young players and to some extent the first wave of what we were able to accomplish by rebuilding our roster. He’s emblematic of what we want our players to do and be.

During the 15-minute conversation, Dipoto showed his appreciation for all Lewis has accomplished and contributed since suffering a devastating knee injury shortly after being drafted.

“For the next two years immediately, you never saw anyone demonstrate a superior character and work ethic, and therefore, we couldn’t be happier for him and we couldn’t be. proud to have chosen the right guy that day in 2016. “

Let’s look at a few more highlights from the conversation.

• As excited as Dipoto was for Lewis, he was disappointed that another Mariners rookie, Justus Sheffield, did not garner any ROY votes.

“The guy who I thought really got lost in the weeds was Justus Sheffield, who all my life the only thing I could think of was voters forgetting he was a rookie because he had been on the prospect’s radar for so long. ” Dipoto said. “He is still only 24 years old. To go out and have what I think is the best season by most measures of any rookie pitcher in the league and then not getting a vote in the rookie of the year was unfortunate. Likely reflects the fact that Kyle appropriately monopolized the votes with voters watching the Mariners.

“Justus Sheffield had a terrific first season as a major leaguer and I feel bad that he wasn’t recognized for what he did because he also really stepped up and did wonderful things.

• Dipoto gave a quick but interesting glimpse into what the Mariners’ future outfield should be like, noting that in addition to what they bring to the pitch, “these are three good people who are wired in different ways.”

Lewis: “An incredibly thoughtful and attentive guy. He’s calm and well-prepared and while the camera likes him, he’s about as thoughtful and careful in his preparation as anyone.

Julio Rodríguez: “He’s funny and he’s got a big smile and he’s shining and he’s trying to find the camera.”

Jarred Kelenic: “He’s intense and grind.”

• One question that has been on the minds of many is what impact the shortened 2020 season will have on the Mariners’ development and plans to return to post-season contention.

“We feel like we’re on the right track,” said Dipoto. “We have a feeling that if we were to guess what it did on our timeline, it probably set us back half a season or more just because we don’t know what this waste of time for our prospects will entail. “

This is consistent with what Dipoto has been saying for some time now. Those who could play benefited a lot from the 60-game season, but the problem is with those who couldn’t. To that end, Dipoto illustrated in the interview the Mariners’ efforts to get these players to work and play by hosting a number of programs such as the high performance league / instruction camp in Arizona and a camp in Arizona. academy in the Dominican Republic.

• When it comes to off-season additions, Dipoto’s main focus is on adding paddock pieces, but he may be doing it in a different way than originally thought. During his end-of-season press conference, Dipoto said it was likely that the bullpen additions would come through free agency. On Tuesday he went in a slightly different direction.

“We have, as always, burned the lines in discussing with clubs how we might be able to match trades for controllable throws, particularly in the reliever box, and we will continue to monitor the bull market. free agents.

• Upon Mitch Haniger’s return from two surgeries in early 2020, Dipoto admitted that no one, including Haniger, fully understood how complicated it was going to be to go through rehab for the injury that initially put him out. combat during the 2019 season. It seems, however, that there is finally light at the end of the tunnel.

“We are encouraged,” Dipoto said. “Hanny is as well placed as he has been for over a year and a half. He’s been there, he’s regained his full strength, he’s starting to incorporate a baseball activity into his training routines.

“We won’t really know what that looks like on a pitch until we get there in January and February, but we were just encouraged by how positive he looks about his situation from a strength and strength standpoint. explosive athleticism.

For more on Dipoto, including what he saw in Lewis in the center field and a description of what went wrong on set for Evan White, listen to the full interview when the podcast hits 4pm. hours.

Follow Mariners insider Shannon Drayer on Twitter.

More From Shannon: Standout Prospect, M’s Arizona Camp Details