The beginning of the 2021 season has had its share of bumps in the road. While there’s been plenty of bright spots — Ty France has hit well taking over for Kyle Seager since the latter’s trade to Atlanta in the offseason, and Justus Sheffield has picked right up where he left off, leading the team in strikeouts and innings pitched — the team has seen a nasty stretch of underperformance and injury leave them at 17-23 through the season’s quarter pole.

With questions about Evan White’s future, Dylan Moore’s sudden drop off, and concerns in the rotation and outfield, fans are clamoring for Jarred Kelenic and/or Logan Gilbert — two of the most advanced members of one of baseball’s best farm systems — to join the big league squad. However, Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto says that those players, who are among the best in their respective positions in AAA, may still need seasoning that doesn’t show up in the numbers:

“One of the things I love about our fans is their passion, so I understand their perspective, I do. But the fact of the matter is that we’ve got our farm director Andy McKay who has a whole bunch of coaches, trainers, and other guys keeping a close watch on all our minor leaguers, not just Jarred and Logan. You can’t just look at the numbers, there’s so much mental preparation and maturity that goes into being a big leaguer.”

While some believe that the real reason Kelenic and Gilbert aren’t up yet is what some have taken to calling “service time manipulation”, Dipoto is adamant that the player’s contract status has nothing to do with the timing of their call up:

“I understand that that’s something some players in other organizations have hinted they believe may have happened, but that’s not a consideration for us. We are all about wanting to prepare our young guys as best we can for sustainable, long-term success, just like what we’re doing for our whole organization. This is not something we’re going to rush, or go halfway on. We think if we’re patient, and do everything we can the right way we’re going to see a team start to come together in the back half of 2022, with a real chance at being a contender by 2023, and ideally beyond that.”

With the team hosting Cleveland after a rough series in LA against the defending champion Dodgers, and desperate for starting pitching due to injury, Dipoto acknowledged that a bullpen day may be necessary:

“We’re going to have to be creative with some guys — that’s for sure — until we get right, and that’s on Scott and myself. You may see some guys juggled between Tacoma and our big league roster, and I’ve got to go out and see if I can find some veteran pitching that can help us stabilize what’s been a bit of an issue for us out of the gate.”

Meanwhile, Logan Gilbert moved to 3-1 after eight dominant innings last Tuesday, and has 42 strikeouts in just 30 innings on the young year. 

Make sure you join us every Thursday for more updates from Jerry Dipoto, and everything Mariners!