PEORIA, Ariz. – Jerry Dipoto won’t have much time to contact copyright lawyers while trying to take and make calls with agents and opposing teams in this delayed and condensed offseason.

But he might be missing out on some extra cash when someone inevitably starts printing the T-shirts.

During a media “carwash” on Friday morning, less than 24 hours after Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement and ended a 99-day lockout, Dipoto was asked about his desire to resume an offseason filled with the motivation and expectation of adding talent to his team.

His response on SportsRadio KJR: “I woke up this morning ready to transact.”

Dipoto could probably turn “ready to transact” into a cash cow by printing the phrase in white lettering on a navy shirt with the Mariners’ “S” logo serving as the “S” in transact.

Asked about the comment in a Zoom call with several local media members, Dipoto grinned and replied: “Yes, I am ready to transact. I’m all for it.”

So are Mariners fans, who were buoyed by a 2021 season that saw an overachieving team finish with a 90-72 record – one game out of the postseason – and a start to the interrupted offseason where Dipoto acquired All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier in a trade and signed reigning American League Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to a 5-year, $115 million contract.

Readiness hasn’t meant immediate results, which was the hope for many fans. Sorry, but neither Trevor Story nor Kris Bryant was going to sign with any team less than 12 hours after the lockout ended.

The 99-day lockout initiated by MLB owners and the resulting transaction freeze didn’t change the Mariners’ biggest offseason objective – adding proven MLB hitters to an offense that struggled to score runs and relied too heavily on Mitch Haniger, Ty France and the now-retired Kyle Seager.

“We want to add some impact to our offense,” Dipoto said. “Minimally, we want to go get one impact bat, whether that’s free agent or trade remains to be seen. And if we can manage to swing both, we’d like to get two and they’re likely to play on the left side of our field. Some combination of third base, left field, designated hitter is what we’re looking for.”

Free agent Kris Bryant certainly fits that description. The 2016 NL MVP provides that sort of positional flexibility.

The Mariners had strong interest in Rockies shortstop Trevor Story before the lockout.

Signing Story would mean convincing him to switch to either second or third base with J.P. Crawford entrenched at shortstop.

Seattle also had multiple conversations with Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki before the lockout. The Mariners would have to go through the posting process to sign Suzuki, who produced a .317/.433/.636 slash line with 26 doubles, 38 homers, 88 RBIs, 88 walks and 89 strikeouts in 134 games for Hiroshima in the Nippon Professional Baseball league.

If the Mariners are able to acquire two hitters, Dipoto would prefer that one of those hitters be left-handed given their projected roster – Bryant, Story and Suzuki are all right-handed hitters – but isn’t confined to it.

“Some guys are just good versus everybody,” Dipoto said. “When you get to that stage in the game, and you’re talking about high-level talents, you’re probably not concerned with the platoon matchups.

“There are certain players that are available on this market that transcend whether they’re right or left-handed hitters. We will remain interested in players in that category.”

Free-agent outfielder Michael Conforto would fit that left-handed hitting criteria and also can play center field on short-term basis if needed, which is something that is attractive to Dipoto.

Conforto struggled last season, posting a .232/.344/.384 slash line with 20 doubles, 14 homers, 55 RBIs, 59 walks and 104 strikeouts, which could lessen his asking price.

“Plan A and B are improving our offensive efficiency and run scoring,” Dipoto said.

Plan C will be adding to the pitching staff. But after watching young pitching prospects like George Kirby, Brandon Williamson and Levi Stoudt throw in the recent minor league minicamp, Dipoto believes they have enough depth, along with Justin Dunn, Justus Sheffield and Matt Brash, to fill out the fifth spot in the rotation behind Ray, Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen and Logan Gilbert.

“We feel like we have a lot of young pitching that can contribute sooner than later, which likely results in us focusing on midrotation to higher-end starters if we’re going to do anything in our starting rotation,” he said. “But we’re probably not inclined to focus on adding a back of the rotation starter.”

Dipoto also plans to add a “multifunction pitcher” who can start if needed or give the Mariners multiple innings out of the bullpen, preferably left-handed.

A possible fit for that spot is Bellevue native Matthew Boyd, who filled a similar role with the Detroit Tigers.

While free agency is the logical route, Dipoto was engaged in trade talks with multiple teams. The Mariners would love to pick up a player or two from the A’s, who are going into a clearance sale on their established players. Third baseman Matt Chapman is a favorite of the organization and right-hander Frankie Montas fits Dipoto’s “higher-end starter” criteria.

Of course, that would mean parting with some prized prospects. Seattle isn’t trading Julio Rodriguez or Kirby and doesn’t want to move young shortstop Noelvi Marte. But trades cost prospect capital.

“While we’ll never say never, it’s hard to imagine where we would trade the top of that list,” Dipoto said. “I can’t imagine a scenario where we would move Julio or George. We just feel like those guys are on the doorstep to impact what we do. That being said, with others in our system, and we love our players, you have to give to get.

“When you’re talking about acquiring potential impact players, you’re going to have to give potential impact prospects.”

Whether it’s a trade or free-agent signing, Dipoto, a man of many past transactions, is ready to transact with more motivation and payroll flexibility than at any other time in his tenure with the Mariners.

This next week shouldn’t be dull.

“We were heavily engaged with a number of what we think are elite talents prior to the beginning of this lockout,” Dipoto said. “And we will remain heavily engaged until we run it to ground, because we do want to get better.

“From last night to this morning, we have visited now with I would say pretty close to all 30 teams and re-established where they are. We’ve reached out to try to reconnect with a lot of agents. There are 30 teams doing what we’re doing right now. I think we’ve engaged with most or all of the players we were most interested in and we’ll find out you know what the time frame is, but nobody seems to be in a crazy rush.”