The Seattle Mariners, looking to end a post-season drought that runs through 2001, earned the best arm in the commercial market Friday night in a deal to get the right hand. Luis Castillo From Cincinnati Reds.
The teams announced that Noelvi Marty, Levi Stodt, Edwin Arroyo and Andrew Moore are headed to Cincinnati. Marte, a short player, is the highest-rated player in the group, with ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranking him as the 12th best player in pre-season baseball.
Sailors led by a rising star Julio Rodriguez54-47, 12 games behind the first-placed Houston Astros at Al West and retains the number two spot.
Now, they’ve added the best available arm ahead of Tuesday’s trading deadline, someone who will be joining an already strong spin that includes Ruby Ray And the Logan Gilbert.
It’s a huge pick for the Mariners who haven’t made it to the postseason since 2001, and it’s the longest active dry spell among the four major North American sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL).
The 29-year-old is the right-hander, who is 4-4 with a 2.86 ERA in 14 starts for the Reds this season and has 3.62 ERA in six seasons, all with Cincinnati.
Castillo won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2023 season, so the Mariners will at least have him for the rest of this year and all that follows.
Castillo returned from the worst season of his career in 2021, when he lost 16 games and scored 75 league goals. Changing him has been his best pitch for most of his career, but this year, he’s actually been throwing a four-seam quickie ball more, and he’s doing so with great success. Opponents accounted for 39% of their swings against his four stitchers, the highest in Castillo’s career and highest pitcher in major tournaments (at least 300 thrown by four stitchers).
Castillo has a 1.38 ERA in four games against AL this year, second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw (0.69) among qualified shooters.
The Reds have been ferrying veteran players in search of prospects since the end of the lockdown earlier this year. In March, they traded Eugenio Suarez And the Jesse Winker To the sailors, and on Thursday, they exchanged the defensive player Tyler Naken and loyal Philip Del To the New York Mets.
They’re getting a lot out of Seattle in this trade, with Marte and Arroyo rated among the top 10 team prospects for pre-season by ESPN’s McDaniel.
20-year-old Marte spent the year with High-A Everett, scoring .275 with 15 points home, scoring a best 62 points and 55 RBI points to match his 13 tackle steals on Friday.
McDaniel Arroyo, also a shortstop, ranked Seattle’s eighth-best prospect entering the season. The 18-year-old spent the season in Single-A Modesto, scoring 0.316 with 76 throws, 67 RBI, 13 home runs and 21 steals.
Studt, 24, an experienced third-rounder in 2019, is 6-6 with 5.28 ERAs in 18 starts for Double-A Arkansas this season.
Moore has a 1.95 ERA in 25 relief games in Modesto this season.
Cincinnati player Brandon Drury He could also be transferred before Tuesday’s deadline, along with several Reds shorteners.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers contributed to this report.
