SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners won the trade deadline.

Certainly, that story and determination will continue to play out as the days and weeks of the home stretch unfold. But it’s hard to ignore that the Ms are 9-1 since that deadline and winners of seven straight games.

Oh, and they’re also in a neck and neck race with Houston for the American League West while capturing the top wild card spot at the moment.

The Mariners “won” the deadline by bringing Eugenio Suarez back to Seattle, acquiring Josh Naylor and bullpen arm Caleb Ferguson all while keeping most of their top prospects in the Mariners system.

It was a long and winding road, one where Hollander gives us a behind the scenes feel at how a deal gets done.

“You try to read the tea leaves a little bit and sometimes you overread them and think, ‘wow there’s momentum here,’ and then your hopes are dashed immediately when they call back and say, ‘no we’re not doing that,’ You ride the wave of emotions and while you’re doing that you tend to ride the wave of the emotions of how the team is playing too,” Hollander said. “When we can do things to help the product on the field, it’s really gratifying to see them play out. When they play out well, you’re really excited, and when they don’t play out as well, you feel really guilty, like you didn’t do enough to help the players and coaches on the field. So seeing tangible value coming from the guys you acquired…those are big moments for the team when you’re talking about 50 games left.”

The lineup looks completely different, in a good way. It’s deeper than ever, and the Mariners look like a team that could be dangerous in October.

For years, a patient fanbase has asked for those aggressive moves.

They got them.

“You want your team to tell you what is the right thing to do, and this team told us over the course of the season that it was talented enough to make a big-time run. So that’s why we acted the way we did,” said Mariners General Manager Justin Hollander.

Hollander works hand-in-hand with Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto. The duo has built arguably the best farm system in baseball to the point where the Ms could acquire two huge pieces for their lineup, and not really harm their prospect count.

It made for a busy trade deadline week, Hollander estimates dozens of calls and texts that led to a rollercoaster ride.

“Think about the number of trades we make and then think about how many calls may have to occur; they never say yes on the first call. It’s months of text messages and phone calls, most of which lead to nowhere. But when one leads to a second call which leads to a third call and you get close enough to think ‘wow we have some momentum here,’ it’s extremely exhilarating when the deal goes through and devastating when the deal falls apart at the last minute,” he said, adding “I jokingly sent someone my call log for July 30th and it was a busy day. I was on the phone more than I wasn’t on the phone. Just talking to different teams about different ideas all day on the 30th and to some degree on the 31st as well. There’s a lot of volume because you don’t want to miss an opportunity to help this team get better, especially when we play the way we have and have an opportunity to push for the playoffs.”

Indeed, they do.

Because as of Monday, the Mariners closed the gap with the Astros and became the hottest team in the American League heading into a new series with Baltimore. It’s the sort of instant improvement that, even with 43 games to tell the ultimate story of this deadline, has Hollander pleased with the early results.

“The thing that matters most is winning. I think you want to inject some energy and belief into your 26-man roster, into your fans, and your coaching staff. But the reason you do that is you hope you can turn it into Ws on the field. Obviously, we’ve played well over the last week, and that, I think, is a sign of both the talented and the energy injected into the group.”

It is demanding, it is trying in every way. But for Hollander, it’s a dream job. One that bears so much responsibility for an entire front office.

They hear you, the Mariner fans. And they want to win for you.

“It’s a great job, I often get asked, ‘what’s your favorite part?’ and it’s everything. It is everything. I get to live vicariously through our community and watch the team go out and do big things this year.”