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MLB

Dipoto: Mariners believe very highly in new OF'er Martin

By FoxSports
Published | Updated
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Jun 15, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Texas Rangers center fielder Leonys Martin (2) singles against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday, the Seattle Mariners made headlines by acquiring outfielder Leonys Martin and pitcher Anthony Bass from the Texas Rangers in exchange for reliever Tom Wilhelmsen, outfielder James Jones and a PTBNL.

It was the latest move by new GM Jerry Dipoto as he continues restructuring the Mariners since taking over for Jack Zduriencik earlier in the year. After falling short in 2015 of their postseason goals, the M's 'cleaned house' with new manager Scott Servais and Dipoto in hopes of getting back on track, and there have already been some big changes since Dipoto took over.

While trading away Wilhelmsen wasn't something the Mariners set out to do this offseason, Dipoto noted that the club thinks very highly of Martin, coming off a bad year with the Rangers in which he hit .219/.264/.313, lost his starting spot in the outfield and was shuttled back and forth between Arlington and Triple-A.

Greg Johns of MLB.com quotes Dipoto as being very complimentary of Martin's skills as an outfielder. Martin is also a player the Mariners wanted for some time:

Prior to a lost 2015 season, Martin was the Rangers' everyday center fielder. As Dipoto said, that down year in 2015 presented the M's with the perfect opportunity to strike a deal:

As for Bass, Dipoto sees him helping the Mariners in the rotation and out of the bullpen:

Earlier in the week, before the Martin/Wilhelmsen trade, Dipoto called in to ESPN 710 Seattle to discuss his OTHER recent big deal: the one that brought the M's Nathan Karns, Boog Powell and C.J. Riefenhauser in exchange for Logan Morrison, Brad Miller and Danny Farquhar:

It's only November, but the M's new general manager is quickly putting his imprint on an organization that was in need of a 'culture change' in order to get back to October.

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