2 Mariners who won't be back in 2025 (and 1 who will be) after Winter Meetings

With the conclusion of the 2024 Winter Meetings, there is certainly a lot to chew on for Seattle Mariners fans. While no major moves were made, Jerry Dipoto and the front office were definitely active and remained the topic of conversation on a few different fronts.

From the team jumping from the mid-teens of the 2025 MLB Draft all the way up to No. 3, to a rumored three-team mega trade with the Cubs to a Boston Red Sox-Mariners deal that both teams' fanbases couldn't figure out a fair value on, there was a lot of smoke surrounding the Mariners. As we move forward in the offseason, fans might see some of that smoke turn to fire.

While the team still has a ton of work to do to fill their vacancies, we look at how they could address those needs (and who could become roster casualties as a result).

2 Mariners who won't be back in 2025 (and 1 who will be) after Winter Meetings

Aside from the Juan Soto sweepstakes, which only affected a few clubs that had a realistic shot at signing the star outfielder, the pitching market absolutely stole the show at the winter meetings.

After being spurned by Soto, the Yankees immediately turned to the starting pitcher market, signing Max Fried to a massive eight-year, $218 million contract. Following that, right-hander Nathan Eovald returned to Texas on a surprising three-year, $75 million deal. Then came the blockbuster that saw Garrett Crochet head to Boston in exchange for a nice prospect haul. This set the stage for an already expensive pitching market, which leads us to our first Mariner who won't be back in 2025.

Luis Castillo is likely to be traded before 2025 season

Many might see Castillo and his remaining three-year, $72.45 million contract as an expensive one that could be the centerpiece of a salary dumo deal ... but that couldn't be further from the truth.

In a market where 35-year-old Nathan Eovaldi gets $25 million a year, Matthew Boyd gets a two-year deal worth almost $15 million a year, and Luis Severino cashes in on a three-year, $67 million deal, Castillo's deal seems like quite the bargain. In a down year by his standards, Castillo still threw 175 1/3 innings and logged a 3.64 ERA. He maintained a solid walk rate (2.4 BB/9), but the strikeouts dipped (9 K/9). Castillo is one of the more consistent pitchers in the game and is at the very least a solid No. 2 in a good rotation, well worth his approximate $24 million.

That is, to most teams. Most teams should be very comfortable paying $24 million to an elite arm with flashes of ace stuff. However, the Mariners are not most teams.

Dipoto, tasked with rebuilding this infield with just $15-$20 million could be forced to deal Castillo if it helps fill multiple spots for a team that is continuously fighting a cheap ownership group. We saw reports surrounding a potential deal with the Red Sox, the Cubs or potentially even the Mets or Orioles.

A trade wouldn't be shocking, so long as it addresses two major needs on this team. Even the opportunity to save some serious cash in an effort to reallocate that back to the infield remains a strong possibility, and one that makes a lot of sense for a team with the best starting pitching staff in baseball. It's a shame that a cheap ownership group is likely to be the reason we don't see them together for a deep playoff run.

Tayler Saucedo or Trent Thornton will get dumped

Not to beat a dead horse here, but this is purely a financial move, and one that fully displays a cheap ownership group. A team that released JT Chargois and Austin Voth, both of whom combined to make $3.9 million, could make another cost-cutting move in their bullpen.

The team opted to tender Tayler Saucedo a contract, but his estimated $1 million salary could be moved to try and free up even the slightest bit of room. Saucedo wasn't terrible in 2024 with a 3.49 ERA, but his 4.2 BB/9 and 8.8 K/9 leave a lot to be desired out of a left-handed reliever.

The other name here is Trent Thornton, who played a pivotal role in the Mariners 2024 bullpen, leading the way in innings pitched with 72 1/3 and enjoyed a breakout of sorts. His 3.61 ERA was solid while he maintained decent walk (2.4 BB/9) and strikeout (9.6 K/9) numbers.

Thornton is due $2.2 million and another contender could value him as a secondary piece in a potential deal this winter. The Mariners might also value putting his $2.2 million to work on their offense, as they have shown time and time again that they could build a bullpen consisting of pretty much anyone.

Mitch Garver will be back in 2025 as the backup catcher and part-time DH

This is an experiment that went terribly wrong in the first year. Garver was expected to come in and transform this lineup. He had been one of the better hitters in the league when healthy, and that was the biggest question. Luckily for Mariners fans, Garver stayed healthy for 114 games. Unfortunately for Garver and the Mariners, he just wasn't any good.

In those 114 games, Garver hit .172/.286/.341 with 15 home runs. Perhaps the most concerning was strikeout rate jumping to 31% for someone who was consistently in the low-to-mid 20s. Garver is a 34-year-old backup catcher that relied solely on his bat to provide value, but had to catch a lot more than expected in 2024 to give this team anything worthwhile.

Heading into 2025, Garver is going to the backup catcher. Any move of Garver would need a Marco Gonzalez/Evan White type of salary dump, and this team just can't afford to keep on dumping valuable assets.

Betting on Garver to bounce back as, at least, a decent hitter is not farfetched. How they deploy Garver will be paramount in determining how successful his 2024 season is. An occasional backup catcher and lefty destroyer is the optimal spot for him to inflict maximum damage this year.

Against lefties he still hit .218/.327/.436. His home run split (eight vs lefties, seven vs righties) is even, but his 36.5% strikeout rate against righties and 21.2% vs lefties show that his 2024 struggles were largely against right-handed pitchers.

The 2025 season will be a big year for Garver. Though he may not live up to the everyday DH billing he was signed for, a well-planned out role could provide the Mariners a ton of value for a playoff hopeful team.