GM Dipoto gets reward for success

SEATTLE — The Mariners signed general manager Jerry Dipoto to a multiyear contract extension on Friday, a reward for the club being on track to end the longest playoff drought in the four major professional sports in theU.S.

The agreement comes with the Mariners 24 games above .500, and striving to make the postseason for the first time since 2001.

“Jerry arrived here 21⁄ years 2 ago with a specific plan for our franchise,” Mariners president and CEO Kevin Mat her said .“He has successfully executed that plan, resulting in a younger, more athletic and, most importantly, far more successful major league team.”

Dipoto is in his third full season with the Mariners, who entered Friday 56-32 and 11⁄ games out of first place in the 2 AL West. Since the start of the 2016 season, his first full year, the Mariners have the eighth-best record in the majors at 220-192.

“As I said when I arrived here, I believe this organization has every opportunity to be successful on a consistent basis,” Dipoto said in a statement.

While there are still issues in the farm system, Dipoto has succeeded in making the majorleague product better. He’s turned over a roster that had gotten old and added key younger pieces like Mitch Haniger, Jean Segura and Dee Gordon, who are all major contributors in theMariners’ start to this season. The trade that landed Haniger and Segura from the Diamondbacks before the 2016seasonnow looks like a major coup.

Dipoto also has locked up key parts of the team’s core for the next several seasons, either by having club control through arbitration or by signing long-term extensions.