[DD Martin]

Thursday July 29th was an off-day for the Seattle Mariners. While they had just completed the hiring of the new club President of Business Operations, they still have decisions to make on GM Jerry DiPoto and Manager Scott Servais.

They also made a trade to acquire a new closer from Tampa Bay.

From 710 ESPN Seattle
By Shannon Drayer

The picture of what was to come that Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto spoke of following Seattle’s trade of Kendall Graveman to the Astros became more clear Thursday afternoon, as the Mariners acquired Rays closer Diego Castillo in exchange for reliever JT Chargois and prospect Austin Shenton.

O’Neil: Graveman trade the kind of move Mariners should be making

“We loved Gravy, he did a great job while he was here,” said Dipoto on a Zoom call with the media after the trade for Castillo on Thursday. “The fact is he was due to hit free agency at year’s end and Diego Castillo is due to hit arbitration and remains under club control for another three years. That’s a big part of this. We are a young team, we are growing. Additions like Diego Castillo and Abraham Toro really help us (moving forward).”

According to Dipoto, the Mariners were down the road in trading for Castillo when the Graveman deal, which included fellow reliever Rafael Montero going to Houston and brought Toro and reliever Joe Smith to Seattle, had to be made. The timing of the trade has been a hot topic, and the deal was clearly unpopular in the Mariners’ clubhouse and with a large portion of the fan base. Tampa had yet to agree to a second player from the Mariners in the deal for Castillo on Monday while the clock ticked down on Montero, who had been designated for assignment last week and was a player the Astros wanted.

“Monday’s deal had to be made on Monday because Rafael Montero needed to be placed on waivers by Tuesday,” said Dipoto. “There was no way to execute that deal on any day other day than Monday.”

If Montero had been placed on waivers before the deal with Houston was finalized, the Mariners then would have had to cease the trade talks with Houston and would only have been able to negotiate a Montero deal with the first team to put a claim on him.

“It felt wonky, I feel badly for that, but it had to be done that day if we were going to do it and this was the next part of it,” Dipoto continued. “Today it really picked up (with the Rays) and we were able to get to the right marriage on a second player and ultimately we arrived at Austin Shenton, which was painful for us. We really like Austin, he can really hit and he’s a great kid, but you have to give to get.”

Dipoto has been clear in his intention to attempt to augment the current club as it pushes for the postseason while continuing to add players that will help in the future. Some of the moves were right out of the Dipoto playbook. Trade for upside, club control and in some cases – as he pointed out on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jerry Dipoto Show with Danny and Gallant on Thursday morning – good players who are blocked in their organizations.

“It’s a big deal,” said Dipoto. “He’s been in really the hottest fire there is in leverage innings against real lineups and I guess lived to tell the tale. He’s just 27, he throws strikes, he strikes them out. He’s surprisingly athletic for a big guy – I think he’s actually played the outfield, which is something that seems very Tampa Rays. He seems to be a wonderful guy in my first interaction, so he will fit in very well in what I think is a super clubhouse here.”