Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo has acquired loads of curiosity from varied golf equipment amid a sizzling marketplace for beginning pitching this winter, with the Pink Sox and Cubs among the many groups who’ve been related to the right-hander to this point. A report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal this night name-checks two extra golf equipment who’ve “at the very least inquired” after the veteran: the Mets and the Orioles. With that stated, nevertheless, Rosenthal emphasizes that Mariners are solely keen to deal Castillo if the return package deal improves the massive league membership as they give the impression of being to return to the postseason subsequent 12 months.
Each golf equipment are actually wise suitors for the right-hander. The Mets have already added Clay Holmes and Frankie Montas to a rotation that entered the offseason with solely Kodai Senga and David Peterson locked into beginning roles for 2025, however these additions provide little certainty to the Mets. That makes a gradual and dependable arm like Castillo’s a good choice for that last rotation spot in Queens, however it’s unclear whether or not New York has the big-league prepared items to supply Seattle so as to facilitate a deal. High prospect Luisangel Acuna would absolutely be engaging to the Mariners as a giant league prepared infield choice who appeared good in a 14-game cup of espresso with the Mets final 12 months, however the soon-to-be 23 12 months previous might be a significant factor within the membership’s plans for 2025 given his capability to not solely play the infield and likewise a robust middle subject. That figures to be notably true if the Mets fail to re-sign Pete Alonso and transfer Mark Vientos to first base, which might seemingly open up common enjoying time for Acuna at both second or third base.
The Orioles, against this, have a surplus of expertise across the infield that might be engaging to the Mariners as they search for a front-of-the-rotation arm to switch free agent hurler Corbin Burnes. Particularly, the membership has a little bit of a logjam at first base that the Mariners may stand to learn from. Whereas it’s unclear if Baltimore can be keen to half methods with prime prospect Coby Mayo, Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn had been pressured to share first base duties final 12 months due to a crowded positional combine that figures to solely turn out to be extra cramped with the rising enjoying time wants of kids like Mayo, Heston Kjerstad, and Jackson Holliday. With Holliday poised to take over second base on an on a regular basis foundation in 2025, it’s additionally doable {that a} veteran infielder like Ramon Urias might be accessible for the Mariners in a deal.
One other impediment to a possible Castillo deal, Rosenthal writes, is that parting methods with the right-hander may depart the membership skinny on rotation depth. Whereas their prime 4 of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, and Bryan Woo would stay among the many strongest within the sport, huge league prepared choices like Emerson Hancock and Jhonathan Diaz don’t present a lot confidence for the Mariners’ back-end. One answer to that drawback, in fact, might be a younger pitcher heading again to Seattle as a part of the return for Castillo. The Cubs (Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad), Pink Sox (Richard Fitts and Cooper Criswell), Mets (Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn), and Orioles (Cade Povich and Trevor Rogers) all have gamers on the rotation bubble who they might at the very least theoretically make accessible in commerce talks with the Mariners, ought to bettering rotation depth be key to a deal from Seattle’s perspective.
