Mariners provide an update on Luis Castillo’s recovery from injury

Mariners manager Dan Wilson was asked about when Luis Castillo may return, but made sure not to be tied to a specific timeline.

The Seattle Mariners are a roll right now, having won eight of their past 11 games. As a result, they enter Tuesday’s action 2.0 games out of the AL’s final wild card spot, and 4.0 back of the Houston Astros at the top of their division.

With just 12 games remaining, the Mariners have arguably too much work to do in order to secure a playoff spot. However, at least they still have a shot, which is more than most can ask for at this point of a season.

Of course in order to maximize their chances, the Mariners need as many of their top players available as possible. In this respect, it was undoubtedly a blow when Luis Castillo was placed on the 15-day Injured List with a Grade 2 hamstring strain.

Castillo not up to his usual standard for the Mariners

In one respect, Castillo hasn’t been quite at his best in 2024. He’s projected to have his least productive season statistically since arriving in Seattle, with a 11-12 record, 3.64 ERA, 3.93 FIP and 1.169 WHIP in 30 starts.

At the same time however, these are the type of numbers the majority of Major League starters would be happy to have on their resume. Regardless, having Castillo in the rotation just makes the Mariners that little bit stronger (with all due respect to Emerson Hancock).

As such, it makes sense that people would be curious about when Castillo could potentially return. More specifically, if he could be back before the conclusion of the regular season to help the Mariners?

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Cautious update from Wilson

Manager Dan Wilson was asked about this on Tuesday afternoon, ahead of the Mariners’ crucial home series opener versus the New York Yankees. He said:

“I know he’s doing what he can to get back here as quickly as he can. We just have to kind of wait and see. Injuries are a little tricky, so we’ll just have to wait and see how well his rehab goes.”

As you can appreciate, Wilson did his best to find a balance between optimism, but while also not backing himself into a corner with an actual timeline. He said:

“As far as I know it’s been coming along without much struggle, so we’ll see how it goes. We’re hopeful.”

Castillo was retroactively placed on the Injured List on Sept. 9, meaning the earliest he can return is on Sept. 24. Assuming he is back by then, it would mean Hancock only needing to start one more game, this Friday in the road series opener versus the Texas Rangers.

There is speculation about the Mariners potentially having to move one of their main starters during the offseason, in order to bring in a quality bat. If it does indeed come to this, would you choose Castillo as the one to be traded? Let us know in the comments section below.