Seattle Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Scott Servais are checking for damage with players who were mentioned directly or referred to by former team president and CEO Kevin Mather in an online video that led to his resignation.
The message of the last two days addressed to those affected was: You have every right to be upset.
“We are very open with our players and we urge them to be the same. And if they want to be upset, they should be, honestly. They should be insulted,” Dipoto said on Tuesday. “But at the same time, they are collectively focused on what we’re trying to do here as a team.”
The video posted over the weekend showed Mather expressing his views on the club’s organizational strategy and making controversial remarks about players at Bellevue, Washington, Rotary Club, on February 5th. prospectus from the Dominican Republic for their English skills. He also admitted that the team could manipulate service time for some of its young players.
Mather apologized Sunday and then resigned abruptly the next day, but not before throwing a hand at the organization, as he began full-team training in Arizona.
Dipoto and Servais are both upset.
“I’m embarrassed that this is the way we are viewed, because for those of you who have been around me or Scott or this team, that’s not how we’re connected,” Dipoto said. “It’s embarrassing to be classified or to face the stigma we are now attached to and we have to eliminate it. It’s ours to bear and now we have to be responsible for that and then find a way to grow beyond it. “.
Mather’s most inflammatory comments were about the English language skills of former All-Star pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma and top prospect Julio Rodriguez and drew the strongest responses from Dipoto and Servais.
Servais referred to his winter baseball experiences in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela and the opening trip of the sailors’ season to Japan two years ago.
“It’s an eye-opener. You really appreciate what foreign players have to go through. Not just communication, but then trying to figure out how to play the game at the highest level,” Servais said. “So no one has more appreciation for me than I do and it’s a subject I’m very sensitive to.”
Mather undermined the baseball strategy, acknowledging that the team is possibly manipulating service time for top potential Jarred Kelenic and Logan Gilbert. Mather also revealed information about contract negotiations with Kelenic and pitcher James Paxton and called veteran Kyle Seager “overpaid.”
Mather angered the MLB Players Association by saying that neither Kelenic nor Gilbert will be with the major league club on opening day as a way to keep control of the club longer.
But Servais and Dipoto said decisions on the list had not been made and plans for Kelenic and Gilbert had been presented and communicated to both.
“All of our players are aware of their path, as their development plan shows, and we are very direct in the way we share it,” Dipoto said.
Servais said he met with several players mentioned directly by Mather.
“I would say the temperature was very hot with a number of boys whose names were certainly mentioned for several different reasons,” Servais said. “It wasn’t surprising at all. But I feel really good about this group and I’m proud of the way they’ve handled things so far. We could talk about that all day, and our players will continue to take care of things the right way. . “