The Seattle Mariners entered the offseason with clear needs to address. Yet another whiff at second base has left them looking for almost an entirely new infield. First baseman Justin Turner and third baseman Josh Rojas left for free agency. As time goes on, Seattle realizes that upgrading their abundance of needs with financial constraints is an impossible task. With the offseason almost certainly not going the way the team planned, the Mariners have resorted to considering a trade of their ace Luis Castillo to free up spending money.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, Seattle is growing ‘frustrated’ with the offers they’re receiving. Castillo, 32, is a true innings-eater. He would live at the top of most rotations in the league. Better yet, he signed an incredibly team-friendly extension in 2022. Castillo is netting $24 million this year, which in the current market is a steal for a pitcher of his caliber.
The @Mariners are “frustrated” with the deals that they’ve been hearing lately for starting pitcher Luis Castillo, per @JonHeyman on @BleacherReport live.#TridentsUp #SeattleMariners
— Circling Seattle Sports (@CirclingSports) December 26, 2024
Mariners Turn Down Luis Castillo Trade
Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, Seattle was actively shopping Castillo during the MLB Winter Meetings. They almost struck a deal with the Boston Red Sox. The deal reportedly fell through because Boston wanted to salary dump Masataka Yoshida and his $18 million contract. While Yoshida would certainly be an impact bat, the outfield is the one place Seattle doesn’t need help. He could chip in at DH, where the Mariners do need help, but doing so would only net the Mariners an extra $6 million to work with.
The #RedSox pursued #Mariners SP Luis Castillo before pivoting to signing Walker Buehler, per @Feinsand
Feinsand notes SEA wanted 1B Triston Casas back in a potential Castillo trade—which BOS was unwilling to do unless SEA also took on OF Masataka Yoshida’s contract. pic.twitter.com/ddcGHkdzWN
— MLB Deadline News (@MLBDeadlineNews) December 27, 2024
Less Money, More Problems for Seattle
According to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Seattle is projected to be sitting on around $16 million to work with. So, acquiring Yoshida would give them $22 million to fill two to three holes, instead of $40 million to do so.
Seattle’s main goal in a trade with Boston would be to acquire first baseman Triston Casas, who is slated to make less than $100,000 above the league minimum in 2024. Boston has already spent big on pitching this offseason, and with a solid outfield, salary dumping Yoshida makes sense, but Seattle doesn’t have the financial means to be the right suitor, pivoting their interest elsewhere.
Photo Credit: © Jeff Le-Imagn Images
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