Here's How the Seattle Mariners Handled Trade Rumors with Luis Castillo
The Seattle Mariners have a little over a week until pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Peoria, Ariz. And barring any unexpected developments or blockbuster trades, it looks like the Mariners starting rotation will remain intact for 2025.
But as recently as two months ago, it didn't look like that would be the case.
When winter meetings were held during the second week of December in Dallas, it looked like Seattle's veteran starting pitcher, Luis Castillo, would be heading out East.
For the latter part of the winter meetings, trade rumors swirled that Castillo could be heading to the Boston Red Sox in return for first baseman Triston Casas.
The deal didn't end up materializing, but speculation continued for weeks on teams reaching out to the Mariners and team President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto about Castillo's availability. No deal would have gone through without Castillo waiving his no-trade clause, but with the amount of trade rumors going on, it would have made sense for him and his agent to be aware of any potential deals.
Luis Castillo, 96mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/fR4d2kO39k
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 24, 2024
In a news conference held via Zoom on Feb. 3, Dipoto said that the organization was in contact with Castillo and the former described the latter as a "pro."
"He's a pro," Dipoto said. " ... Once his name leaked as having been discussed in trade talks, we did connect with Luis, obviously his agent (Rafa Nieves). And, not shockingly, he was a pro about the whole thing. And I think the piece that didn't really get discussed a lot publicly, at least in what I saw, he has a full no-trade protection at least for this year. And anything we did was going to be communicated through Luis. So it's not like we were trying to hide the fact that his name had come up. And it did."
Based on Dipoto's comments, it doesn't seem that Castillo had a negative reaction toward being heavily mentioned in trade discussions.
Castillo has been the M's starter on Opening Day for the last two years.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
MARINERS RECEIVED TRADE INQUIRIES FOR ALL FIVE STARTING PITCHERS: In a news conference hosted via Zoom, team President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto revealed that othe clubs showed interest in every Seattle starting pitcher. CLICK HERE
MARINERS EXECUTIVE TALKS ABOUT TEAM'S REUNION WITH JORGE POLANCO: The Seattle Mariners kept tabs on the veteran infielder before coming to terms with him on a new contract, according to team executive Jerry Dipoto. CLICK HERE
MARINERS RELIEVER MATT BRASH AHEAD OF SCHEDULE IN REHAB: In a news conference held via Zoom, team President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto said that the high leverage reliever is expected to return sooner than his original timeline suggested. CLICK HERE
Follow Seattle Mariners on SI on social media
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on "X" @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the "Refuse to Lose" podcast by clicking HERE.
