Earlier this morning, the Seattle Mariners announced something they’ve probably known for weeks, Jerry Dipoto is getting extended and simultaneously promoted. Hired in 2016 as General Manager, Dipoto will now step into President of Baseball Operations, a new role split from the charred ashes of the more-encompassing role Kevin Mather once held. Catie Griggs, an external hire of some acclaim, will work alongside Dipoto to manage the business, while Jerry oversees the actual product on the field. Alongside this veritable treasure-chest of news, Scott Servais will be extended as Manager. So far, the length and terms of these deals is unknown, yet assuming three years seems fair given previous extensions of a similar manner.

With this news comes many questions, the first being, will Jerry Dipoto be hiring a General Manager under him? Personally, I’d assume the answer to this is “yes,” however, I’d imagine that search begins now and finishes, well, whenever they decide it finishes. Dipoto has developed a reputation inside Baseball for being a bit of a “maverick” to use a positive word for someone who does whatever they want despite agreed consensus of their own staff and advisers. I’d imagine there are some who would cast a doubt as to how much freedom a GM operating below Jerry Dipoto would enjoy, but once again, the Seattle Mariners have put us into uncharted waters, as Mariners are wont to do. We have no idea how Dipoto will operate as a President. Perhaps this is a welcome breath of fresh air.

Many will note that consistency is an important factor in the future success of an organization. This is a sentiment I can wholly consume and enjoy, however, it isn’t the only factor. The Mariners are, perhaps, one of the most consistent organizations in Major League Baseball. Their product is shockingly consistent and less-than. Through years, decades, of keeping their front office relatively consistent, hiring and promoting from within, and keeping the hands exchanging the dollars relatively close to the vest, they have achieved the supreme goal of a playoff drought that will likely be able to order a beer. Myself, I feel extremely doubtful that the Mariners executed a wide and deep search of external candidates for President of Baseball Operations and landed on a General Manager with zero experience at that level who has a single playoff roster to his name in over a decade of experience.

There are those, even on this masthead, who think this move is fine, if not even appropriate. I can understand the sentiment. The farm is highly-touted, there is a New Wave coming. Letting a theoretical vision get passed over into new hands mid-vision is simply starting all over again. Jerry Dipoto should get another year. This can all be true. It all has some semblance of truth, arguably. However, this can all be true without promoting him to the, theoretically, most important Baseball role inside the organization. On the other hand, I could argue Jerry Dipoto should be fired. He is about as long on the job as Jack Zduriencik, and is currently boasting a bottom-tier on-field product, with potential value in the wings. It’s the same place we were once in, just in reverse. At some point, you just have to win, and win hard. Was Jerry Dipoto, a GM currently fielding the league’s worst-performing set of rookies buoyed by a results-based outlook on a team that is statistically awful, thoroughly vetted for his role of President? If so, what set of parameters do the Mariners higher-ups (come on down, Howard Lincoln) use to determine what a “good” President does? I’d posit that convenience and money-saving are not super far down the list.

The ultimate reality of this move is that it is in no way surprising to me. The Seattle Mariners aren’t the types to really break the mold and take a gamble, even when the on-field product is far from savory. A New-ish Era is pretty much the party-line for bold change. A team mired in a rut that can’t seem to figure out it’s in said rut. A top-five prospect comes up and fails, well, that’s a problem for tomorrow. Look at all the other ones we have. A whatever trade piece catches fire for 150 PA’s, only to drop off a cliff the next year, well, who could see it coming? We are turning the same rocks over every four or five years, hoping this time there’s a little gold underneath. And there could be, I just don’t know who’s mining it. With time, the prediction is bound to come true, right? The future is bright.