Jim Moore: OK, I’ll give credit to the Mariners for going big with trade for Luis Castillo

On Friday the Mariners traded four prospects, including the top two in their farm system, to the Reds for Luis Castillo, the top available starting pitcher in the market.

The reaction is all over the place - the Mariners gave up too much to get him or job well done, they’re really going for it this year.

Put me in the job well done camp. Could it backfire when the Mariners’ top two prospects, Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo, become middle-of-the-order stars for the Reds in 2025 and lead Cincinnati to a World Series title in 2026? Sure, that’s possible. And the two other prospects in the deal might be contributors as well. Levi Stoudt might become a fixture in the Reds’ rotation, and Andrew Moore with his 102 mph fastball might be Cincinnati’s closer in the future.

And if all of that happens, would it be worse than seeing Adam Jones blossom in Baltimore while Erik Bedard floundered in Seattle in a Mariners trade gone bad from the past? Undoubtedly so.

But there’s also a chance that Marte and Arroyo don’t turn into who they’re projected to be. Reds fans might be talking about Marte the way Mariners fans talked about Dustin Ackley, and for as much promise as Arroyo has as an MLB shortstop down the road, maybe he’ll turn into the next Jarred Kelenic, perhaps never meeting the high expectations.

Did the Mariners put too much in their trade package to land Castillo? That certainly seems to be the prevailing opinion, but think about this - they were one of 12 teams pursuing Castillo. It was a bidding war! I’ll admit that the package seemed more along the lines of a deal for Juan Soto minus George Kirby or Logan Gilbert. I’ll bet even Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto reached more than he wanted to, but if he hadn’t, Castillo would have gone somewhere else.

We’ll have to see if he made the right move or not. It could be a brilliant move by Dipoto that leads to a championship parade this year or sometime this decade or he might have shanked one out of bounds if Castillo and the Mariners falter while the prospects flourish in Cincinnati.

I’m just glad he swung for the fences. I was already prepared to be underwhelmed by whatever the Mariners did before Tuesday’s trade deadline, halfway expecting them to do nothing at all, listening to the explanations why, how they were in on all the big names but were outbid in the end.

Or I was expecting a serviceable starter who would fortify the back end of the rotation while wowing no one.

Does this supposed “haul” by the Reds gut the Mariners’ farm system and prevent them from going after Soto or Shohei Ohtani? When you lose the top two prospects in your organization, I think the answer has to be yes. Or if they’re still involved in trade talks for superstars of that caliber, you’re talking about a package of prospects and starting pitchers and position players on the major league roster, which hurts your hopes of making the playoffs this year.

And as much as I like the idea of Dipoto and manager Scott Servais manufacturing long-term success instead of being a one-hit wonder this year, I appreciate that they’ve reached the point of enough’s enough, shoving chips to the middle.

The Mariners have not made the playoffs since 2001. I guess you knew that. And I understand that the ultimate goal is to not just make it to the playoffs but win it all. This is the only MLB team to have never even been to the World Series, and I guess you knew that too.

But come on, let’s just start with ending the 21-year playoff drought, even if that means one of the silliest things I’ve ever heard of - making the playoffs and not getting to play a single game at home. MLB gave up the one-game wild-card playoff this year and implemented a format in which the two lowest-seeded wild-card teams have to play every game of a potential three-game series on the road.

If the season ended today, the Mariners would play at Toronto, which would be interesting in and of itself because unvaccinated players from Seattle would not be eligible to play, and that would include Robbie Ray. But the way Ray has pitched in his last two starts against the Astros, that might be a good thing.

How crazy is that? You’ve waited 21 years to see the Mariners in the playoffs but you can’t watch them in at least one game at T Mobile Park. Who came up with that bonehead idea?

However it turns out, the acquisition of Castillo increases the odds of the Mariners being a postseason team and maybe even making some noise in the playoffs. The Mariners’ rotation has been the major reason behind the team’s success, but Kirby is nearing his innings limit for the season as the club seeks to do what’s best for his future.

If I’m not mistaken, I remember hearing that they didn’t want Kirby to go much past 110 or 120 innings and between his minor-league and major-league outings this year, he’s at 96 innings now. Logan Gilbert is at a career-high 123 innings with another 10 to 12 projected starts to go.

And maybe you’re like me, being mostly on board with Marco Gonzales and Chris Flexen but wondering if the wheels are going to fall off at some point.

I don’t know how the Mariners plan to incorporate Castillo into the rotation, but it will happen right away - this is a guy who beat the Yankees in New York on July 14th, going seven innings and allowing just one run and two hits to that powerful Bronx lineup.

His ERA of 2.86 is one of the best in baseball. His fastball averages 97 mph. He has a good changeup and a terrific nickname too - La Piedra (The Rock).

Castillo, 29, told Cincinnati reporters Friday night: “Now that I’m going to a different team, the people will be able to see me and see what the real La Piedra is.”

The Mariners could still use another bat for their frequently impotent lineup, but Castillo gives them another run-prevention guy who lessens the urgency to fill that need.

Whatever the case, give Dipoto credit for improving this year’s team now and dealing with the consequences later.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. You can find him on Twitter @cougsgo, and on 950 KJR-AM, where he co-hosts a sports talk show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.

This story was originally published July 30, 2022 at 10:27 AM.