Mariners rejected Triston Casas trade offer from Red Sox

The Mariners’ pitching depth in recent seasons has enticed many teams into trade talks, and reports surfaced almost exactly a year ago about Boston’s interest in the Seattle rotation. Nothing was finalized between the two teams at the time, but Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times report that the Red Sox made an offer on the first baseman earlier this offseason Triston Casas for both Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo. However, these “exploratory talks” then “did not progress further” as the M’s have no interest in trading out of their rotation unless it is a last resort.

Given the contrasting strengths and weaknesses of the Mariners and Red Sox, a pitching-for-hitting swap appears to be an ideal answer to both teams’ needs. While Miller or Woo may not be exactly the type of ace the Sox are looking for to bolster their rotation, both are obviously talented young forces with upside and team control – neither Miller nor Woo are arbitration eligible yet, and both will be controlled through the 2029 season. Similarly, Casas will be controlled through 2028 and has already shown early glimpses of his potential at the MLB level.

Jerry Dipoto, Seattle’s president of baseball operations, has previous offers for Miller, Woo, George Kirby, Logan GilbertAnd Luis Castillo. Recent reports suggest that the M’s are at least open to hearing what teams have to say about Castillo (the oldest and highest-paid member of the rotation), but Divish and Jude write that “the Mariners … are not actively shopping Castillo.” .”

There’s nothing stopping Dipoto from listening to what teams have to say, just in case someone comes along with an offer too good to refuse. However, Dipoto told Divish and other reporters today: “Our initial reluctance to engage in deeper discussions about trading pitching likely resulted in us making far fewer calls than we have otherwise made so far this offseason.”

The result may be something of a stalemate, as the Mariners wait for rival teams to lower their asking prices and other clubs wait for the M’s to become more open to the idea of ​​trading out of rotation depth. Things could move forward once some free agent pitchers move off the field, or perhaps if the Mariners were to add a pitcher of their own in the form of Roki Sasaki. While virtually every team in baseball will make an appeal for the Japanese superstar after their draft window officially opens, Seattle’s track record in both pitching development and star Japanese players would seemingly put the M’s train at the forefront of most teams in the bidding process bring.

In the meantime, it appears the Mariners will remain focused on trading from their minor league depth, except as Dipoto notes: “It’s the time when prospects are no longer the driver and when almost everyone is focused on major league players. And I don’t know why this seems different to me now than it usually does, and maybe that will change in a week or two when the free agent market really opens up.”

Since shortstop JP Crawford is the only established member of the Mariners’ infield. Signing a promising first base talent like Casas would go a long way toward strengthening the infield and the shaky lineup as a whole. However, the Mariners already have at least one part-time first base option Luke Raleywho seems to be getting a fair bit of playing time against right-handed pitchers.

Since then, the M’s have been linked to trade candidates for second or third base like Nico Horns or Alec BoehmIt could be that Seattle tries to tackle one of these positions first before turning to the comparatively easier position of first base. An industry source told Divish and Jude that the Mariners could try to bring a third team into talks with the Cubs about Hoerner, perhaps to cover some of the money owed in the remaining two years of Hoerner’s contract .

From Boston’s perspective, trading Casas wouldn’t necessarily result in a vacancy at first base. Rafael Devers is a below-average defender at third base, and the Sox have reportedly at least considered moving him to first base to free up the hot corner for either one of Boston’s emerging infield candidates or perhaps a big free agent like him open Alex Bregman. As a manager, this remains a speculative topic for now Alex Cora told reporters today (including the Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham) that he hasn’t spoken to Devers about a position change, and Cora actually praised Devers’ third base work in 2024 as “terrific.”

Then again, there’s no shortage of spirit in the offseason, as the Red Sox were chief baseball officer just last month Craig Breslow downplayed the idea of ​​trading with Casas. Then last weekend, reports surfaced that the Sox were considering the possibility of passing on Casas as a pitcher, and this apparent offer for Miller or Woo only reinforces the idea that Casas is anything but an untouchable part of the Red Sox roster. Of course, that doesn’t mean Casas will move for less than a premium return either.