Mariners reportedly still considering trading Luis Castillo

While some would make the case to keep together the best rotation in baseball, the Mariners are desperate for a quality batting infielder.

It really is crunch time for the Mariners, with pitchers and catchers reporting to Peoria, Arizona in just six-weeks time. It’s meant to be an exciting time of year for baseball fans, but those in Seattle must be increasingly concerned about the significant issues plaguing the infield.

Save for J.P. Crawford at shortstop, the infield positions are filled with uncertainty which — fair or not — are currently set to be manned by a platoon situation involving underwhelming options. We’ll give first base somewhat of a pass, if the Mariners do indeed ending up re-signing Justin Turner to share playing time with Luke Raley.

At second base, the Mariners are still looking to bring in more help after missing out on Hyeseong Kim and Gavin Lux. As for third base, the club has been linked to free agent Yoan Moncada, while fellow free agent Jose Iglesias is someone who could play at several positions in the infield.

Given how time is running out to find help though, there does come a point where a club can get desperate, but the question is how desperate? For example, enough to break up the best rotation in the Majors?

Plan Z is still technically an option

Well, that could turn out to be the case in Seattle, despite Jerry Dipoto previously saying it would effectively be a plan Z to go down this road. However, there were always a couple of qualifiers with this comment, with the first being that a plan Z is still a plan, even if it’s a last-ditch one.

The second qualifier, was that Dipoto stated this plan Z was in reference to the young starting pitchers, i.e. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo. In other words, this didn’t dispel the possibility that Luis Castillo could be the one who gets moved.

As per speculation in recent weeks, it has indeed been Castillo who’s been linked as the most likely to be traded, particularly to help solve the infield woes. Despite being the oldest pitcher of the Mariners’ starting five at 32-years-old, he’s still a quality option who can potentially entice another club.

Mariners and Orioles discussing Castillo

Along these lines, a report came out on Monday that the Mariners have spoken to the Orioles in recent days, about a potential trade involving Castillo. The report came courtesy of Jon Morosi, during a segment on MLB Network‘s Hot Stove.

Whether a trade comes to fruition of course remains to be seen, but the Mariners will preferably be looking for someone such as Jordan Westburg in return. Westburg is coming off an excellent second season in the Majors which saw him named an All-Star, he can play both second and third base effectively, and still has intriguing upside.

There will be those who stress the Mariners should not trade Castillo, as it would break up a superior starting five and with no genuine internal replacement in place to take over the reins. In this respect, Emerson Hancock is meant to be the next great thing in Seattle after being selected sixth overall in the 2020 draft, but the reality is he’s been underwhelming thus far in 15 Major League starts for the Mariners.

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The contract factor

At the same time, you can understand why Castillo is the most expendable, when combining his age with the fact he was less productive than Gilbert, Kirby, Miller and Woo last season. Throw in that he’s currently the most expensive player on the payroll in 2025 with a $24.15 million salary, which is the type of money the Mariners would be happy to offload.

On the subject of Castillo’s contract and how much payroll he takes up, he still has two more years remaining after this one, together with a vesting option in 2028 pending him pitching 180 innings in 2027. It’s entirely possible the Orioles — or whoever — could be weary of trading for him unless the Mariners retain some of the money, which is something they would prefer not to do.

As if this isn’t enough, there’s also the question of if the three-time All-Star himself would sign off on any move to another club. He holds a full no-trade clause in his deal for this year, meaning he has plenty of control over what happens to him.

What’s frustrating in all of this is that the Mariners have the resources to find quality infield help, but without breaking up their stellar rotation. Ultimately though, especially as we edge ever closer to spring training, it’s looking increasingly like they will only have one or the other, although there will be no issue whatsoever in being proven wrong in this prediction.

What would you do if you had the deciding vote for the Mariners? Assuming there really is no other way, are you keeping Castillo or moving him for quality infield help? Let us know in the comments section below.