Cubs Showing Interest in Mariners' Luis Castillo

[Brock Beauchamp]

The Cubs pulled off their big improvement to the lineup via the Kyle Tucker trade with the Houston Astros.

Now it's time to turn their attention to the pitching staff, the rotation in particular.

Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of The Seattle Times wrote a round-up of Castillo rumors, mentioning that the Cubs have shown interest. In return, the Mariners have been interested in second baseman Nico Hoerner, so much so that the Cubs and Mariners were nearing a three-team deal with Hoerner going to Seattle while the Cubs acquired Garrett Crochet from the White Sox.

The Mariners have quietly spread rumors that 32-year-old Luis Castillo might be available in trade. He could likely be had for a reasonable prospect return due to the fact he is owed roughly $24 million per season through 2027 with a $25 million vesting option in 2028 but had roughly league-average performance in 2024.

Any acquiring team would be betting on Castillo returning to previous form, where he was a well above-average starting pitcher most teams would be thrilled to have in a playoff rotation.

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[WhyCantWeWin]

Really don’t want them to spend a lot of prospect capital for Castillo. 

[Rex Buckingham]

If for some reason they do want Castillo and Seattle won't budge off Hoerner, there needs to be a really good prospect or two coming back to the Cubs

[Rcal10]

5 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

If for some reason they do want Castillo and Seattle won't budge off Hoerner, there needs to be a really good prospect or two coming back to the Cubs

I would just pass if they wanted Nico. I don’t want a prospect. 

[Bertz]

I know Jude specifically put this out there after the the Tucker trade, but Tucker makes this feel exceedingly unlikely IMO.

A) Dealing Hoerner now after dealing Paredes feels unworkable from the Cubs standpoint, and dealing Castillo without getting Hoerner back feels unworkable from the Mariners standpoint

B) If the Cubs trade for Castillo and extend/re-sign Tucker they are already at next year's Luxury Tax.  Castillo no longer feels like a talent warranting painting yourself into that kind of box

[JBears79]

Adding Tucker and moving Parades makes me sour on trading Nico now. I'd like to keep him for this season at least now that Shaw has a path to playing time at 3B.

[LBiittner]

Are padres serious about moving Cease? 

[Rcal10]

31 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

Are padres serious about moving Cease? 

I think they are, and he would be amazing. But do the Cubs really want another 1 year rental? I can believe they will at least make a huge effort to keep Tucker, how would they keep them both? 

[SOFNR]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

I would just pass if they wanted Nico. I don’t want a prospect. 

I've seen a bunch of Nico for Castillo talk on Reddit and it's just baffling. I don't think Nico for Castillo was ever a thing. The Cubs may have been willing to move him for one of the Mariners young arms, or in the 3 way to get Crochet. But for Castillo it doesn't make any sense. Why are you trading your 4 WAR 2B making 12 mil for a  32 year old 2-3 WAR pitcher under contract for atleast 3/75? Even if the Mariners add prospects, which doesn't seem like something they'd want to do, the Cubs aren't getting better in the short term. Now that 3B is open  there is really no reason the Cubs would be shopping Nico. 

[SOFNR]

1 hour ago, LBiittner said:

Are padres serious about moving Cease? 

I know he's only under contract for one more year, but that would be pretty awesome. It may not be the most efficient use of prospects since the Cubs won't retain him and Tucker both. But it also gives you two shots to retain a star player. I'd have to see what the cost is. That would be a great rotation.

[UMFan83]

Serious question: why do people seem down on acquiring Castillo?  Is it the mix of age + remaining contract?  Or the fact that he profiles more like a really good number 2 rather than an ace and we want to aim higher?

There are definitely more exciting options out there, but I don't hate the idea of Castillo being the big add, especially if he comes at a lower cost than other names being discussed due to contract.  Willing to be persuaded otherwise though.

 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

18 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Serious question: why do people seem down on acquiring Castillo?  Is it the mix of age + remaining contract?  Or the fact that he profiles more like a really good number 2 rather than an ace and we want to aim higher?

There are definitely more exciting options out there, but I don't hate the idea of Castillo being the big add, especially if he comes at a lower cost than other names being discussed due to contract.  Willing to be persuaded otherwise though.

 

He's 32 and had a bit of a down year including losing a tick off the fastball.  I personally like him as an addition just fine, though at this stage in the offseason I don't really see a path to it given the moves already made, and the Mariners apparent goals for their moves.

[Cuzi]

1 hour ago, UMFan83 said:

Serious question: why do people seem down on acquiring Castillo?  Is it the mix of age + remaining contract?  Or the fact that he profiles more like a really good number 2 rather than an ace and we want to aim higher?

There are definitely more exciting options out there, but I don't hate the idea of Castillo being the big add, especially if he comes at a lower cost than other names being discussed due to contract.  Willing to be persuaded otherwise though.

 

I like the idea of Castiilo, but I'm not trading anything remotely close to what the Mariners are asking for. He's owed $24M for 3 years. We could have signed Eovaldi for 3/75 and expected roughly the same performance on the mound. I'm not trading a Nico Hoerner to save a whopping $1M on the market. Especially not after trading Paredes. I would have done it before the Tucker deal had the Mariners thrown in a really good prospect to pay for Nico while the Cubs relieve them of the Castillo contract.

Edited December 14, 2024 by Cuzi

[Bertz]

Quote

A trade of Castillo to the Cubs for a package headlined by second baseman Nico Hoerner also would appear a longshot. The Cubs needed to trade a second baseman or third baseman to clear a spot for No. 1 prospect Matt Shaw, the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft. They accomplished that goal with the inclusion of Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker deal, creating a path for Shaw at third and making it likely they will keep Hoerner.

Ken Rosenthal tonight 

[JD94]

It’s a tough spot. I don’t love Luzardo. I know it doesn’t really matter, but the idea of 4 lefties in the rotation is just weird to me. 
 

I don’t love Castillo. I like him fine, but the problem is I don’t want to give anything up for him. As Cuzi said, you could have just signed Eovaldi for money and gotten roughly the same production for the same money without having to give anything up. 
 

Cease is the one, but he will be expensive prospect wise and he’s another rental. I don’t see a world where the FO extends both he and Tucker. 
 

I would love for them to just pay up for Burnes, but they just aren’t going to sail past the LT. We already know that. 
 

Again it’s not an ideal situation either way you slice it. Interested to see what happens here. 

[Dfan25]

They probably cant make it work with the money , but Ha Seong Kim could open up a Nico trade .