Hot Market for Starting Pitching Has Mariners Taking Calls for Luis Castillo

The biggest move of baseball’s hot stove season has been made with the New York Mets’ acquisition of superstar Juan Soto, but there’s still plenty of deals left to be made.

According to a report from Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, the Seattle Mariners are getting calls about the availability of starting pitcher Luis Castillo, and, "They’re not hanging up."

Per Kramer, the Mariners weren’t initially intending on moving Castillo, and would still prefer to keep him, but after huge deals were made for starting pitchers Max Fried and Garrett Crochet to join the Yankees and Red Sox respectively, it was time for due diligence to be done.

Castillo has a no-trade clause that he would have to waive before any deal could be made.

Castillo has been rock solid as the ace of the Mariners’ rotation since joining the team at the trade deadline in 2022.

That year he helped Seattle break its 21-year playoff drought, and threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings in a 4-0 wild card win. In 2024, Castillo posted a 3.64 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 175 strikeouts over 30 starts.