PEORIA, Ariz. – It’s a beautiful thing being miles from his beachfront home in Las Salinas de Bani in the Dominican Republic, drifting across the blue waters of the Atlantic in a boat named La Piedra with fishing lines in the water.
No social media, no MLB Network, no cell service.
Luis Castillo finds true happiness and peace on the ocean, fishing for mahi mahi, yellowfin tuna, snapper and redfish.
It’s an escape he shared with his father, Luis Sr., who taught him how to fish and throw a baseball while growing up in the nearby town of Bani about 40 minutes away.
The two activities still dominate Castillo’s life, just at somewhat more elevated levels. After the marathon that is the MLB season ends, he retreats to the ocean to recover from the rigors of a season.
“When I go out there, I’m just trying to clear my mind,” Castillo said through interpreter Freddy Llanos.
And the farther he gets from the coast, the chances of a text message from friends perusing the trade rumors on social media or a phone call from his agent decrease.
“When I’m out there fishing, I’m not hearing anything,” Castillo said. “When I get back home, that’s when I will get calls from my (agent).”
After signing a five-year, $108 million contract extension with Seattle near the end of the 2022 season, Castillo didn’t expect to hear much about his future during any offseason. He had stability with a long-term contract that now seems affordable by current market standards. The agreement also featured a no-trade clause through the 2025 season.
Beyond the contract, Castillo felt more secure in his situation when Jerry Dipoto, Mariners president of baseball operations, told the media that trading a pitcher from the starting rotation would be Plan Z. It’s a message he relayed to the members of the starting rotation.
But in the first days of December leading up to the MLB Winter Meetings, the Athletics stunned the baseball world by signing Luis Severino to a three-year, $67 million contract. It was followed by former Mariner and Eastside Catholic (Seattle) High graduate Matt Boyd signing a two-year, $29 million contract with the Cubs, Nathan Eovaldi re-signing with the Rangers for three years at $75 million and Max Fried getting an eight-year, $218 million deal with the Yankees.
Given what teams were willing to pay for pitching in the market, the three years remaining on Castillo’s contract at $22.75 million per season looked somewhat affordable given his talent and past success.
The Mariners started actively listening to trade offers involving Castillo. They didn’t want to trade him, but if the right MLB player was made available in return and the trade allowed for some additional payroll flexibility, it would have been professionally irresponsible to not consider it.
Out of fairness to Castillo, the front office contacted him and his agent to let them know what was happening and their thought process, also gauging what teams Castillo would considering waiving his no-trade clause for or what would be needed to get him to waive it.
“I didn’t really have a big reaction to it,” Castillo said. “I mean, I still had the no-trade clause left in the contract. But if the team wanted to come to me in some negotiation, who knows what happens? It’s not the first time my name’s been linked to something like this. You never know what’s happening. This is a business.”
What if the Mariners would’ve asked him to waive the no-trade clause to go to a team that would’ve made him cut his long dreadlocks, like the Yankees?
“If I didn’t have that option of going to a team where I’d have to cut my hair, it’s less likely now,” Castillo said.
In the end, the Mariners couldn’t find a trade match. It never got as far as some reports detailed. Some teams were concerned with the language for a $25 million vesting option in 2028, while most didn’t want to offer MLB talent in return.
The Mariners weren’t disappointed that they never reached Plan Z.
“We chose to hold on to Luis and the other four starting pitchers, as we expected when the offseason began,” Dipoto said.
Castillo didn’t want to be traded.
“I’m 100% happy,” he said. “The talent we have in this rotation. And it’s my third year here, once you’re here this long, you kind of call it a family here. I’m happy that I’m here.”
There is some thinking from baseball insiders that once Castillo’s no-trade clause expires after this season, the Mariners won’t hesitate to trade him due to the money owed for the seasons ahead.
But until then, he’s the most veteran pitcher on one of the best starting rotations in MLB.
“It was a little bit scary at first, just because of who Luis is and what he means to us, and how he’s helped me and all that kind of stuff,” fellow starter Logan Gilbert said. “I didn’t expect him to be traded, or for any of the starters to get traded. But people are expensive out there. It’s very expensive to sign free agents, especially hitters coming to Seattle. So at some point you never know if that’s the way to get a big bat here is to trade an arm.”
Castillo is coming off a somewhat subpar season by his standards. He ended the season on the injured list, having suffered a hamstring injury on Sept. 8. He still made 30 starts (three fewer than 2023), posting an 11-12 record with a 3.64 ERA. In 175⅓ innings pitched, he struck out 175 batters with 47 walks. Even when he was healthy, he struggled to pitch with consistent command. And his change-up wasn’t as effective as years past.
“It was a little frustrating,” he said. “I’ve never had that happen to me career, having an injury that late and having to miss the last month of the season.”
But if the Mariners had somehow managed to get into the postseason, Castillo would’ve been ready to pitch.
“I was throwing bullpens and working with the trainers,” he said. “The mentality was I’d be ready for the playoffs.”
Instead, the Mariners missed the postseason by one game for a second straight season.
The hope is that Castillo can return closer to his 2023 All-Star form where he made 33 starts, posting a 14-9 record with 3.34 ERA and finishing fifth in the AL Cy Young voting.