SEATTLE — For those clamoring for Jerry Dipoto to make a big-ticket splash in the free-agent market, Friday's trade with the Milwaukee Brewers was probably a disappointment by implication.
The biggest ticket of them all, outfielder Aaron Judge, was realistically above the Mariners' pay grade from the start. The team has no need to dip into the crop of elite starting pitchers available in free agency, given their deep rotation and pool of young prospects knocking on the door.
And now, with second baseman Kolten Wong's acquisition to fill the team's middle-infield vacancy, it seems to close the door on the elite free agent shortstops, any one of whom would have fit so well onto Seattle's roster. Of course, I'm talking about Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts, Trea Turner and Dansby Swanson.
