Mariners will still have work to do at Meetings

SEATTLE — With Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings set for next week just outside Washington, D.C., it’s fair to wonder how many moves Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto has left to make after already engineering five offseason trades that have brought in eight new players.

But remember, this is one of the most active GMs in baseball and the latest shuffling has yet to fully address the shortage of left-handed relief and has also created more of a need in the rotation, so don’t be surprised if Dipoto manages to do a little more holiday shopping when player agents and executives from all 30 teams gather for four days of conversation.

MLB.com and MLB Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of the 2016 Winter Meetings from the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside Washington, D.C. Fans can watch live streaming of all news conferences and manager availability on MLB.com, including the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 8 at 6 a.m. PT.

• Hot Stove Tracker

Dipoto wasted no time remaking the Mariners last year in his first season on the job, with most of that coming via the trade market. Seattle did sign a handful of free agents — outfielder Norichika Aoki, catcher Chris Iannetta and relievers Steve Cishek, Ryan Cook and Justin DeFratus — but Dipoto engineered 25 trades involving 60 players over the course of his first season, with six of those deals coming before the Winter Meetings even began and three during last year’s gathering in Nashville, Tenn.

This offseason’s similar early flurry has narrowed Dipoto’s remaining focus, particularly after securing shortstop Jean Segura from the D-backs on Wednesday in a five-player swap that cost Seattle young right-hander Taijuan Walker.

Dipoto has already checked off most of his position desires, having also brought in first basemen Danny Valencia and Richie Shaffer, …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com