MLB insider's Luis Castillo update won't help Mariners' frustrating offseason

As the Seattle Mariners and Jerry Dipoto continue to try and navigate this offseason, their options are dwindling quickly. The option of trading Luis Castillo in favor of a major offensive upgrade while also clearing payroll to pursue a pricier slugger seems to be out the door. The infield market is thin at best, offering no real impact bats outside of Alex Bregman.

Dipoto was basically tasked with rebuilding the infield, filling second and third base as well as finding a first baseman or DH to rotate with Luke Raley. After many teams have already done a lot of the heavy lifting for their rosters, Seattle has made no additions to their major league group.

The one move that seemed like it really started to gain some momentum was a Luis Castillo trade, especially at the Winter Meetings when he was linked nearly every team that seemingly needed a pitcher. The Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees, Orioles, and Mets were all mentioned at one point or another as a potential landing spot for the Mariners pitcher.

It seemed like this might be Dipoto's best way to address all of the team's holes with a pretty tight budget. Names like Tristan Casas, Nico Hoerner, and Mark Vientos were all floated around as potential impact players the M's could get in return. Yet, it looks like the offers the Mariners have been getting were underwhelming at best.

Seattle Mariners reportedly "frustrated" with trade offers this offseason

Jon Heyman went on Bleacher Report live and was asked about the Mariners as well as other teams' pursuit of Castillo. He revealed the Mariners were "frustrated" with the offers they were receiving.

This all came to light when Mark Feinsand reported the Red Sox and Mariners' talks stalled when Boston asked Seattle to take on all of Masataka Yoshida's contract in Casas and Yoshida-for-Castillo deal.

This is just an outrageous proposal considering the cost of starting pitching. Castillo has been one of the most consistent arms in the game and is an elite No. 2 — in fact, he could be a No. 1 on 50% of the teams in the league. Not to mention, Yoshida is owed $18.6 million in each of the next three years, all for a 31-year-old DH only who doesn't provide a ton of impact.

We don't blame Dipoto and the Mariners for being frustrated if these are the kinds of offers he is receiving. Frankly, it's insulting that a trade for Castillo is being considered as some sort of salary match/dump — $24 million for that level of pitcher is a solid deal, and the Mariners having to eat money for a DH only is just outlandish. Long story short, if the Mariners are having trouble trading one of the better pitchers in the game, it doesn't bode well for the rest of their offseason.