Last night, the Cincinnati Reds traded their ace starter Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for minor leaguers.
Castillo, 29, has pitched his entire five and a half year big league career with the Reds. Prior to reaching the majors in 2017, Castillo had bounced around in the San Francisco Giants, Miami Marlins (twice) and San Diego Padres organizations. The Dominican born righty finished 8th in NL Rookie of the Year balloting in 2017 and made his first NL All-Star Team in 2019 and had his best overall season with a record of 15-8 with 3.30 ERA along with 226 strikeouts in 190 innings pitched.
Last year, Castillo led the NL in losses (16) and walks (75) but would earn his second NL All-Star Team selection in 2022. Although Castillo only has a 4-4 record he has a sterling 2.86 ERA fanning 90 batters in 85 innings pitched for a subpar Cincinnati team.
Castillo is reunited with former Reds teammates Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker who were sent to Seattle in mid-March. Although Suarez is leading the AL in strikeouts and Winker's production has diminished from his breakout season last year, the Mariners are currently in the second AL Wild Card spot. Acquiring a pitcher of Castillo's caliber gives them a very good chance to go to the post-season for the first time since 2001. Castillo is eligible for arbitration after this season and (unless the Mariners extend his contract) becomes after free agent following the 2023 campaign.
No doubt Mariners players are considerably happier with GM Jerry DiPoto than they were a year ago when he dealt closer Kendall Graveman to AL West divisional rival and eventual AL champion Houston Astros resulting in Seattle missing the post-season by a single game. The addition of Castillo certainly sends a much different message.
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