Boston Red Sox, New York Mets Seemingly Out of Trade Market For Mariners' Luis Castillo
The trade market for the Seattle Mariners with regards to Luis Castillo is rapidly shrinking, it seems. The Boston Red Sox signed free agent Walker Buehler to a one-year deal on Monday, which seems to complete their rotation, while the Mets came to terms with Sean Manaea.
Manaea's three-year deal doesn't necessarily preclude the Mets from going after Castillo, but it certainly makes them less desperate to acquire him or to give the Mariners what they really want for him.
The M's have said all along they don't want to trade from their starting rotation, but it's been made clear that doing so might be the only way to get premium talent at affordable prices. If you are someone who wants to hold on to the rotation at all costs, all this other activity around baseball is good news.
While Castillo isn't necessarily the "ace" that the M's acquired in 2022, he's still a very dependable starter with ace-like qualities. He went just 11-12 this season, but that was more a product of the M's tepid offense. He had a 3.64 ERA and made 30 starts for the second consecutive season. He's a three-time All-Star who represented the Mariners at the All-Star Game in 2023.
If the Mariners don't trade Castillo, they are stuck with very few options for the rest of the offseason. They need to find ways to fill needs at second base, third base and a platoon-partner for Luke Raley at first base.
The M's went 85-77 this past season.
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