Earlier this offseason, there was apparently a very real chance that Luis Castillo could be moved, with the Seattle Mariners apparently willing to listen to offers for the righty. For some fans, this was met with frustration and evidence of Jerry Dipoto and Co. once again moving the goalposts on expectations for 2025.
The reason for this belief was linked to when Jerry Dipoto had his impromptu press conference with the local media towards the end of last season, calling it "a Plan Z" to break up the Mariners' elite rotation. However, as per Cascadia Sports, he'd actually given himself a couple of qualifiers even then, because a Plan Z is still a plan, no matter how last-ditch it is. Dipoto could also legitimately claim to have been referring exclusively to his young starters (with his fingers powerfully crossed).
Castillo is the elder statesman in the Mariners' fab five at 32 years old, with Logan Gilbert next at only 27, so he clearly isn't counted as a young starter. Another factor, of course, was the financial implications, with a report originally from Adam Jude of The Seattle Times indicating the M's only had around $15 million of spare payroll available, to bring new players in. If you can trade Castillo and add, say, Triston Casas in return, why wouldn't you borrow from a strength to improve the rest of the roster?
Along these lines, moving Castillo would have also theoretically opened up more available funds; he is set to make the most money on the Mariners' roster in 2025 at $24.15 million (as well as two further years and a potential vesting option in 2028 to consider). Overall, it was a case of the Mariners not wanting to move the three-time MLB All-Star, but instead almost being 'forced' to, in order to boost other areas of the team, particularly the infield.
Mariners Rumors: Luis Castillo may not be moving on from Seattle after all
In this respect, the latest news on Castillo's future should come as a positive for everyone connected to the Mariners organization. According to multiple Major League sources with direct knowledge of the club’s plans, Jude reports that trading the former Cincinnati Red is now less likely than it was early in the winter.
Just to be clear, Jude isn't entirely ruling out the possibility of Castillo being moved, noting that the Mariners will continue to monitor the market for potential roster upgrades. However, it seems more likely than not that arguably the best rotation in the majors will remain intact for the beginning of the 2025 season.
In truth, the Mariners were helped in coming to this decision by the decidedly underwhelming offers they had received for Castillo. Dipoto is renowned for always wanting to make sure he wins a trade -- although isn't everyone? -- but this is a case where his apparent stubbornness now likely means holding onto "The Rock".
In addition, as we wrote recently, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal believes there is some concern about a dip in Castillo's productivity. Along these lines, Rosenthal made reference to a decline in the pitcher's strikeout rate and average fastball velocity last season.
On the subject of declining productivity, Castillo had the worst ERA, FIP, WHIP and WAR out of the Mariners' preferred starting five in 2024. Not that a 3.64 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 1.169 WHIP and 1.8 WAR are poor in their own right, but certainly you want and expect more from a player who is theoretically meant to be the staff ace (although this is clearly no longer the case).
Ultimately, in our opinion, it is a good thing if Castillo is indeed now set to stay in Seattle; we're predicting a bounce-back year of sorts for him in 2025. Even allowing for how good things looked offensively when Dan Wilson took over as manager, doubts remain about the lineup, meaning a rotation including the Dominican Republic native is still crucial to the club's success this coming season.
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