The Mariners’ latest loss only sharpened the conversation around their pitching logjam, and Luis Castillo keeps sitting near the center of it.
Seattle fell 6-5 to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night, a game that laid bare two of the club’s biggest problems. The Mariners went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, and their bullpen was stretched thin, both in the number of available arms and in the quality of leverage options.
Part of that mess traces back to the way the rotation is built right now. The Mariners are carrying a six-man starting rotation, which leaves them short on the pitching staff.
For a while, the idea has been that Castillo could be the one pushed to the bullpen. More recently, there’s been a case made that Emerson Hancock might be the better fit for that move instead.
Seattle does have options to ease the squeeze. It can shift one of those starters into relief, or it can try to trade someone and open up the roster picture.
Castillo is the obvious name in that conversation. He has been the least effective of the Mariners’ starters, he is the oldest, and he is also tied to a hefty financial commitment through the rest of 2026 and into 2027, with a vesting option for 2028.
That contract is exactly why a deal would be so tricky.
ESPN’s Buster Olney revisited that point on the July 2 edition of the “Refuse to Lose Territory” podcast, saying a Castillo trade would be difficult unless Seattle is willing to absorb a meaningful chunk of money.
"Here are a couple things to think about.
First off, I think it's going to be hard for the Mariners to get a trade, to be able to get something in return for Luis Castillo, unless they eat a significant amount of money going into next year, for a couple reasons.
One, there are a ton of starting pitchers that are going to be available. I mean, in a market that's relatively thin, you're going to have Tarik Skubal, it looks like, and Freddie Peralta and Robbie Ray. And I can come up with another six, eight names-Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, the Kansas City Royals could be in play, on and on and on.
And so you can't just dangle Luis Castillo and hope someone gives you some value in return. You're going to have to actually eat some money. I don't know how prepared they are to do that.
And the other thing is, given the money owed to Castillo, the labor situation plays into it as well. When I've talked with executives with other teams, they say that they believe that there will be teams that will be looking to streamline on dollars going into the uncertainty of next year, not knowing exactly when the season is going to start, not knowing how much value you're going to get in return.
I think the expensive older guys will be players that'll be like hot potatoes, and Castillo is in that boat.
So I like your imagination, and maybe there's a deal to be found there, but I think it's going to be tough because of the way the market's playing out."
The latest edition of the “Refuse to Lose Territory” podcast is out now and includes former Mariners third baseman Ben Williamson.
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