Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo has obtained loads of curiosity from varied golf equipment amid a scorching marketplace for beginning pitching this winter, with the Purple Sox and Cubs among the many groups who’ve been related to the right-hander to date. A report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal this night name-checks two extra golf equipment who’ve “at the least inquired” after the veteran: the Mets and the Orioles. With that mentioned, nevertheless, Rosenthal emphasizes that the Mariners are solely prepared 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 yr.
Each golf equipment are definitely 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 supply little certainty to the Mets. That makes a gentle and dependable arm like Castillo’s a good choice for that last rotation spot in Queens, but it surely’s unclear whether or not New York has the big-league-ready items to supply Seattle to facilitate a deal. Prime prospect Luisangel Acuna would absolutely be enticing to the Mariners as an enormous league-ready infield possibility who appeared good in a 14-game cup of espresso with the Mets final yr, however the soon-to-be 23-year-old may very well be a significant component within the membership’s plans for 2025 given his means to not solely play the infield and likewise a robust heart area. That figures to be significantly 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 may very well be enticing to the Mariners as they search for a front-of-the-rotation arm to exchange free-agent hurler Corbin Burnes. Specifically, the membership has a little bit of a logjam at first base that the Mariners may stand to profit from. Whereas it’s unclear if Baltimore could be prepared to half methods with prime prospect Coby Mayo, Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn had been pressured to share first base duties final yr due to a crowded positional combine that figures to solely turn into 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 may very well be obtainable 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, large league-ready 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, may very well be a younger pitcher heading again to Seattle as a part of the return for Castillo. The Cubs (Jordan Wicks and Javier Assad), Purple 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 least theoretically make obtainable in commerce talks with the Mariners, ought to enhancing rotation depth be key to a deal from Seattle’s perspective.
