The M's were in a completely different position team wise with Felix than they are with Castillo.Big_Maple wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2026 2:50 pmIt’s a fine plan. I agree that we need a new DH, and whether that comes through trade, or internally through promotion I don’t care. I do think the penny conscious M’s would eat Ref’s contract at this point (or by the trade deadline) to make it happen.
Castillo has value has a potential multi-inning reliever. Have him tick up the stuff a bit and at least try to retain some value in what has turned into a rough contract. This also keeps him on the team... in case of an injury... you can stretch him in AAA for a couple starts and get him back in the rotation. Maybe he finds something in the bullpen that he take take into having confidence as a starter... who knows.
Castillo is not going anywhere. He has one more year after this one on his contract with ~ $45MM left. There is no way on god's green earth that they are going to relegate him to a bullpen role, even as a long reliever. He will piggyback, at best. What we, as fans, would want to see happen, and what will actually happen are light years apart. He has more than 5 years of service, so he can't be optioned to AAA (unless he agrees to it). And no one is going to want him, unless the M's eat contract and throw in prospects - which they won't. We are all delusional if we think that will happen.
Look at what the M's did with King Felix. It was obvious that he was a hollow shell of his former self the last 2 years of his contract. But the M's did not trade him - they tried coaching him, they tried working with pitch movement rather than velo, they strategically managed his workload, and only once did they send him to the bullpen (where his pitched 4 innings for Paxton in a single game and then got moved back into the rotation). So all of these fantasy trade proposals where the M's eat $20MM and throw in 3 prospects to land an Alex Bregman are pure fantasy - never gonna happen. He will stay in the starting rotation unless he gets hit by a bus. Who know - maybe he is more coachable than King Felix ever was.
And for the record - I agree with GL_Storm. I have long thought Miller is the best trade chip from the starting rotation. I have been worried about the bone spur in his throwing arm, and that it will land him on the IL for a long time sooner rather than later. Trade him now while he is healthy and has trade value. But even then, I doubt that's some Mariners management would ever want to do.
1. They didn't have a glutton of starting pitching with 2x more top 30 prospects in baseball on the horizon.
2. In his final years they were falling out of contention window with an aging roster, not getting into it.
3. Felix was not the 7th best starting pitcher in their organization. They were starting Wade Leblanc, Erasmo Ramirez, and Roenis Elias.
Who on earth has suggested Luis Castillo and top prospects for Alex Bregman? (maybe you're referring to Bil and I corrected that lunacy quickly) Literally every person who has suggested the M's trade Castillo understands the M's would have to eat money and likely attach a prospect to get a reliever or minor piece back. I think it's ludicrous that you believe he doesn't have any sort of trade value. As mentioned, if the M's were to eat a large portion of his contract... which would be more like $35M, not $45M (no team is letting him vest his option in '27)... the M's could eat $15M of that and a team like the Nationals could clearly use a veteran, back end starter.
Trading Bryce Miller given what he's shown thus far in '26 would be organizational suicide. Especially with Logan Gilbert regressing and a free agent after next season. Miller is averaging 97 mph on his fastball... far and away the best in his career. His stuff appears to have taken a massive leap. You don't trade that cheap control.
