The Mariners and Luis Castillo are in agreement on a five-year, $108MM extension, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. There is a sixth-year vesting option that can take the total to $133MM. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports that the vesting option will trigger if Castillo throws at least 180 innings in 2027. Passan adds that the Mariners will receive a $5MM option for the 2028 season if Castillo undergoes a UCL repair procedure that causes him to miss more than 130 days in the 2025 to 2027 window. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic relays that Castillo will have full no-trade protection for the first three years. Castillo was slated to become a free agent after the 2023 season but will instead stick with the Mariners for at least another four years beyond that.
Castillo, 29, began his major league career with the Reds, establishing himself as an excellent starting pitcher. From his 2017 debut through 2021, he made 123 starts and pitched to an ERA of 3.72. That mark is all the more impressive given the hitter-friendly nature of Great American Ball Park, with both Statcast and ESPN ranking it second behind Coors Field in that department. He was able to achieve that level of success by getting ground balls on 53.9% of batted balls while striking out 26.2% of hitters, both of those numbers being much better than league average. He also displayed adequate control, walking 8.8% of hitters who came to the plate, a mark that’s roughly league average. He produced 14.5 wins above replacement in that time, according to FanGraphs, a mark that ranks among the top 20 among all pitchers in the league.
The most recent offseason got off to an ominous start for the Reds, as general manager Nick Krall said that the club “must align our payroll to our resources and continue focusing on scouting and developing young talent from within our system” in the wake of Tucker Barnhart’s trade to the Tigers. Trade rumors immediately began swirling around Castillo, along with his rotation mates Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle. Gray would be dealt to Minnesota in March but the Reds hung onto Mahle and Castillo to start the year. Castillo was slowed by some shoulder soreness early in camp but returned to the mound in May and didn’t show any rust when retaking the hill. Through 14 starts with Cincy, he had an ERA of 2.86 along with a 47.1% ground ball rate, 25.8% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.
More to come.
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