Seattle Mariners Go Big, Need More as Deadline Nears

The Mariners have been making waves in multiple ways lately. The brawl, the win streak, Julio Rodriguez, and now, the trade for Luis Castillo. Let’s take a look at what has been going on, and what still needs to happen for the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners trade for Luis Castillo

The Seattle Mariners decided to go for it, acquiring all-star ace Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for four prospects, including two major prospects in Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo.

This trade is a win for both clubs, but an even bigger win for the Mariners. Seattle is acquiring a top 10 pitcher in the game, a dude that has some of the most electric stuff, and an even more electric attitude on the mound. An easy 100mph, and a changeup that will give all Mariners fans the Felix chills. This is Seattle’s number one guy, no question.

The haul is large, no doubt. At the end of the day, many will look at this as too much, but I view these prospects in a much different light than most. Noelvi Marte is a good prospect, but his body will not translate to a shortstop, and his numbers up until recently, were quite worrisome. Arroyo is at least two years away from the Bigs, and the other arms are most likely bullpen arms in the future.

Uninformed sites and people will say Seattle gave up three of their top five prospects, and that’s just not true. Marte is not the top prospect, that is catcher Harry Ford, who was just recently promoted and looks like a true star in the making.

Seattle also will be signing one of the most highly touted international prospects in years with sixteen-year-old shortstop Felnin Celesten this winter. When he signs on the dotted line, he’ll immediately become Seattle’s top prospect, and will be viewed in the same way Julio was. Seattle also will likely have two first round picks this next summer in the MLB draft, thanks to the very likely possibility that Julio wins rookie of the year.

The farm definitely doesn’t look like it did a year ago at this time, but it’s also not barren. There’s plenty of attractive pieces, and the team just nailed the most recent draft last week. The perceived farm rankings will shoot back up into the top half of baseball by this time next year, AND Seattle has Luis Castillo for 1.5 seasons. I applaud Jerry Dipoto for going out and getting the most talented arm that is on the market. This is a move that shows management understands the moment and how close the Mariners are.