PEORIA, Ariz. — How do you tell your boss something they don't want to hear?

Sitting in a T-Mobile Park conference room in late August of 2018, Seattle Mariners owner John Stanton asked a complicated question of his top two baseball executives — Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander — and then-manager Scott Servais.

Flanked by Chris Larson, the most influential member of the franchise’s ownership group, Stanton listened to a proposal to start a “step-back” rebuild after the season, regardless of whether the current team, featuring stars like Felix Hernandez, Kyle Seager, Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano, could rally and earn a playoff spot.

After hearing all the reasons why that roster, which was aging quickly, couldn’t be more than what it had been — an average-to-good team, but not a consistent division winner — Stanton asked about the future beyond just winning seasons and playoff appearances.

Would a rebuild — trading away the team's current talent for prospects — bring in players similar to stars of the past, who became Mariners legends? Names like Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez or even Jay Buhner and Dan Wilson were mentioned.

Hollander, an optimist by nature, but a pragmatist by trade, answered the difficult question, considering the various realities of modern baseball that make finding and keeping star players difficult.

“I told him, ‘I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think we’ll have good teams if we do this, but I don’t know if we’re going to be able to have guys that are lifelong Mariners, who could be the next Griffey, Buhner and Edgar. That just doesn’t happen now,’” Hollander recalled.

After a pause, thinking about Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh — the two best players at their positions in baseball — and their contract extensions he helped negotiate, Hollander chuckled and added:

“That it has happened, shows that, one, I’m an idiot,” he joked. “And two, just how lucky we are.”

Hollander’s answer, however, didn’t dissuade Stanton and Larson from greenlighting a rebuild. One that eventually led to two stars that the Mariners hope can carry them further than they've ever gone before.

They have become the foundation of the rebuild, the pillars of what has already been the most successful run in franchise history and should only get better.

“These guys are two of the best 10 players in baseball,” Dipoto said. “None of us could possibly have imagined the stars that they have grown into. ... To be able to have those guys come through the system, fall in love with the city, believe in the organization, grow into leaders in their own spaces and then want to stay here for what could be in both cases, the rest of their careers, is pretty awesome.”

Cal's path

Raleigh wasn’t destined for stardom when he was selected in the third round as a junior out of Florida State in the 2018 draft.

Heck, he wasn’t even supposed to be drafted by the Mariners. His adviser/agent at the time, Scott Boras, had negotiated a handshake deal for the Atlanta Braves to select Raleigh in the fourth round and give him a $1 million signing bonus. Boras made it clear to other teams not to select Raleigh before or he would go back to FSU for his senior year.

The Mariners, upon the advice of then vice president of scouting Tom Allison, decided to gamble and select Raleigh. They viewed him as the best overall catcher in the draft and believed the logic of leaving school when your value is its highest would convince Raleigh to sign.

They were right.

Raleigh signed for $864,000 on July 6, hours before the deadline for players with remaining college eligibility.

“We felt he was one of the best catchers in the country in what was a pretty good group, Dipoto said at the time, citing Raleigh's leadership, offensive and defensive skills and pitch-framing. "I suspect he'll move quickly.”

Raleigh’s first spring training experience was in big league camp in 2019 at the start of the rebuild.

“From that first spring training, I cannot remember a time where Cal was not the first player to arrive,” Dipoto said. "Oftentimes, it would make the guys who run the facility uncomfortable because he'd be waiting out there. He’s always the first to arrive and the last to leave. It’s such a great example to set.”

While Raleigh moved quickly through the ranks, reaching Triple A by the start of 2021 and debuting July 11, 2021, success wasn’t immediate. He struggled to hit MLB pitching. He played in 47 games as part of a platoon with Tom Murphy, posting a .180 average with two homers, 13 RBI, seven walks and 52 strikeouts in 148 plate appearances.

He made the expanded 28-man, opening day roster in 2022, following the offseason lockout. But few remember that he was optioned to Tacoma on April 28 when the active rosters were trimmed back to 26. After Raleigh went 2 for 24 with nine strikeouts in eight games to start the season, the Mariners opted to go with Murphy and Luis Torrens as their catchers instead.

“When that happened to me, it was devastating,” he said. “It was one of the worst things that happened in my baseball career. I had never been basically told I wasn't good enough.”

But following some honest conversations with his father and hard conversations with himself, he vowed to fix things in Tacoma, starting with his mindset. There wasn't much time to change. He was recalled from the Rainiers on May 7 when Murphy injured his shoulder.

“When I got called back up, I still don't think I was ready,” he said. “But if it wasn't for that, I don't know if am where I am today without someone telling me to make adjustments, that you need to have a different mentality, you need to have a different perspective and you need to change some things. If I had stayed up all year, I don’t know that I would get here with the way I was heading.”

It didn’t happen immediately, but he slowly grabbed control of the catching job, tallying four doubles, seven homers and 17 RBI in his first 25 games back. He showed a knack for big homers in key situations while earning his teammates’ respect by playing the final six weeks of the season with torn ligaments in his thumb.

Last season, he went to another stratosphere. After signing a six-year, $105 million extension just before the season started, he went out and produced a historical season, putting up ridiculous offensive numbers, including 60 homers and 125 RBI, that no catcher will ever replicate. He won the home run derby with his dad pitching and his brother catching. His popularity exploded outside of the Pacific Northwest. The Big Dumper was a national brand.

And yet …

"He hasn't changed," manager Dan Wilson said. "He's still the same person."

Julio's path

Rodríguez wasn't a baseball prodigy coming out of Loma De Cabrera in the Dominican Republic. To be clear, he was very talented and there was a belief he would be a good MLB player one day, even at age 16 when signed with Seattle for $1.75 million. But he was rated as the 10th best prospect in the 2017 international signing class.

When the Mariners opted to rebuild, Rodríguez was 17 years old and finishing his first season of professional baseball with the Dominican Summer League Mariners. A successful future had better odds than a lottery ticket, but there was a debate just how good he could be. Most scouts projected him as a corner outfielder, believing his eventual height and weight would slow him down defensively.

Even as he rocketed through the system, there was some debate in baseball circles, even within the Mariners, as to who was the better prospect — Rodríguez or Jarred Kelenic, whom the Mariners acquired from the Mets in the marquee move of what was multiple trades to start the rebuild.

But that all changed when Rodríguez arrived at spring training 2022 with the physique of a fitness trainer and the speed of an NFL wide receiver. He'd heard the critiques about his defense and his baserunning. It angered and motivated him. He wanted to be the Mariners starting center fielder. So he put in the work to earn it, spending hours in the gym.

Mariners leadership was stunned at spring training as they watched him run down balls in center field and do wind sprints. And yet, they were ready to go into 2022 with someone else starting in center field, allowing their prized prospect to grow in the minor leagues. Rodríguez simply wouldn't allow it. He played his way onto the team and eventually to the AL Rookie of the Year.

He was athletic, photogenic, charismatic and enthusiastic about everything. He dripped superstardom and was a marketing department's dream.

Late in August 2022, Rodríguez signed a massive contract extension that would keep him in the organization for more than a decade, a union was formed between the star and the city.

And yet, Rodríguez has taken criticism for his performance at times. Whether it’s slow starts or not coming through in key situations or striking out too much, he has been nitpicked perhaps unnecessarily.

"This is my fifth year," he said. "I've gotten through a lot of ups and downs, learning curves and things like that."

Over four seasons, he's posted a .274/.331/.469 slash line with 110 doubles, 112 homers, 341 RBI and 116 stolen bases while making three All-Star teams, winning a Silver Slugger and finishing in the Top 10 in AL MVP voting three times.

He is the only player in MLB history to have more than 110 homerlus and 110 stolen bases in their first four seasons.

But he's not satisfied. He wants more. He's added leadership duties to his plate. He will do it by example first and with words if needed.

"The best way I can do that is just showing up every day," he said. "I can talk and reach out to some of the guys, and if I see something I don't like, I'm gonna talk about it. But the way I prefer to go about it is that once I step on the field, I'm gonna play hard. I expect everybody to go out there and do the same thing."

Given their difference in ages, positions and background, it was second nature for Raleigh to find his leadership voice. Rodríguez watched, listened and waited for his moment to feel right to do it.

"You have to develop and learn along the way," he said. "I'm more comfortable now."

Homegrown superstars

For all the reasons that surged through Hollander's mind when he told Stanton such a thing couldn't happen, most teams, particularly those outside of Los Angeles and New York, don't have two longtime superstars on their roster, particularly ones that started their careers in the organization. That bonus means a little more to the relationship between player and fan base. They become family.

"It goes beyond their on-the-field production, which is obviously almost impossible to find," Hollander said. "Then you combine that with the off the field, the way they're wired. They're great people who do the right thing. I never go to bed worried that Cal or Julio is going to do the wrong thing on a given day. They've set a standard for everybody in the organization. It's going to help us get to where we want to be."

With the baseball season looming, count the number of Raleigh or Rodríguez jerseys you see in a day. Think about how many of them are kids. They have become what Griffey and Edgar meant to their parents.

Hollander can't help but think about his children, Lucy (10) and Elliot (9), and their love for both players.

"They started knowing who players were and following baseball at the time that Cal and Julio were coming to the big leagues," he said. "And Cal and Julio are going to play for the Mariners for their entire childhood. And that doesn't happen in a lot of markets."

Both have said they never want to wear another jersey in their playing career.

"They’re the elite of the elite, best catcher in baseball, best center fielder in baseball," Hollander said. "They're great teammates, they love the organization and invest in the organization. I think our fans are very appreciative of it, and we in the organization don't take it for granted. It's not like we sprinkled some magic pixie dust on these guys and turned them into something special. They did it themselves. And that makes us very lucky."

The walls of the spring training complex are covered with massive pictures of player and team success of years past. There is a picture yet to be taken.

"Not if, but when we do it, those two guys holding the World Series trophy up to celebrate, and what it represents to everyone," Hollander said with hope. "It will be really, really special.

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