The Seattle Mariners in 2025 will have a chance to take advantage of what looks to be a wide-open American League West.
The Mariners boast arguably the best starting pitcher rotation in all of baseball. The rotation was the only one in baseball to have four pitchers start 30 or more games and led the league in quality starts.
Based on recent comments from Mariners manager Justin Hollander, it seems like a fair price might be steep for a potential trade partner.
Hollander went on MLB Network Radio on Dec. 13. The hosts asked Hollander whether he liked a swap for Baltimore Orioles prospect Coby Mayo or Boston Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas more. Hollander didn’t answer the question, but was extremely complimentary to Castillo:
“I’ll let you guys tell me what you like better. I love Luis Castillo. Luis Castillo’s an awesome pitcher, he’s an awesome teammate, he fits our environment really well. I’ll let you guys decide whether you like one of those (players) better or whether you just like having Luis Castillo pitch every five days for the Mariners.”
Castillo started 30 or more games for the fifth time in his eight-year career. He had a 3.64 ERA and 175 strikeouts in 175.1 innings pitched across 30 starts.
Castillo is set to earn $24.15 million in 2025, 2026 and 2027, respectively, with a $25 million vesting option for 2028. Despite his age (32 years-old) and cost, he’ll can be considered a steal based on Max Fried’s recent eight-year, $218 million deal with the New York Yankees. And the estimated $30 million a year contract Corbin Burnes is expected to earn.
Despite this, Seattle missed out on the playoffs by one game and had their postseason fate decided in the final week of the season for the fourth year in a row.
Mariners President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto has said that first base, second base and third base are the main positions of need for the team. And according to rumors, there’s been several ways the club has discussed filling those needs.
According to some of those rumors, Seattle has had discussions with several teams about the possibility of moving veteran pitcher Luis Castillo.
There’s been conflicting reports about how close the Mariners are to actually making a swap. Dipoto has previously said that the idea of moving a pitcher from the starting rotation is “plan z” on the list of ways the team hopes to improve. And it seems that Seattle isn’t interested in moving on from the three-time All-Star for anything less than it considers a fair price.