Smash or Pass: Red Sox-Trade-Target Luis Castillo from the Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners have a wealth of rotary weapons. I see a false trade for Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller almost every day. Unfortunately, these (and all) hypothetical trades are senseless suggestions due to the financial situation of the Mariners. Seattle can only spend about $ 15 to $ 20 million in this off-season. They do not build up again, but constantly strive to win 54 % of their games. Trading with cheap, controllable pitchers of the Major League is counterproductive for this goal, which means that you will probably not act any of your pitcher’s authorized to arbitrate. Luis Castillo will be due to around $ 24 million each in the next three seasons. The Mariners have a pitching surplus and want to improve their line-up with a limited budget. It sounds like a perfect trading partner for me.

The Smash Case: He was good

Luis Castillo has been in the league for eight seasons, has thrown 1200 innings and an ERA of 3.56. Without his debut season and the shortened 2020 season, he completed at least 25 starts every year. Oh, and Pedro Martinez helped him change.

Although he has had his heyday, he is still a very productive pitcher. In 175 Innerings he achieved an ERA of 3.64 and a whip of 1.17. He beat 24.3 % of the strikers while he was only 6.5 % when he was walking. As far as his arsenal is concerned, he mainly uses a fast ball with four seams and at the same time mixes a sink, a slider and a changeup.

The four seam reaches a speed of about 95 miles per hour and appears flat due to the very low trigger point of Castillo. Castillo always places it at the top of the zone, where it performs the best performance. It is worth noting that Castillo hardly extends the hill down, which leads to the lowest expansion in the entire baseball, so that 95 probably feels closer to 93. He uses his sink, as every right -handed man should do and stubs into the same -handed impact men. The slider is a “gyro slider”, which means that the spin does not reflect in a pitch movement and the ball apparently remains straight. It may sound like a bad thing, but it is wrong for the eye of the bat. Castillo uses the slider in the zone against left -handed strikes and outside the zone against right -handed people for whiffs.

Finally there is the change that I mentioned before. It used to be one of the best playing fields in baseball, but Castillo has moved away in recent years. At the moment it only makes up 14 % of its litters and is used almost exclusively against left -handers. For some reason, despite similar movements and locations, the field is no longer the weapon that it was once. Punch men just don’t sniff that often. It is still a solid field and a beautiful weapon in the Arsenal, but it is no longer the dominant off-speed field that it once was.

The passport: he is getting worse and worse

Castillo has a rounded arsenal with throws that he can throw against both sides of the plate. He gets floor balls, strikes strikes and limits free passes. The key figures of his individual pitches are solid and he rarely misses the time. What can you not like?

Well, although the statistics are positive, almost all go in the wrong direction. Its strike out rate fell from 27.3 % to 24.3 %. His fastball lost some speed and the associated swinging rate fell considerably. In recent years he has managed to overwhelm team constellations with his fastball. The speed decline could not be more than a bad year, but it is more of a sign of the future. At 95 MPH, he was able to drive a solid year on the pitch. If the speed continues to drop, it can be difficult for Castillo to toboggan.

It is worth noting that Castillo threw his fastball in 45 % of cases last season. The Red Sox throw less fastballs than any other. With his gyro slider, Castillo has a train-neutral pitch that he can throw for strikes. Possibly there is the possibility to reduce its fast ball in favor of more sliders in order to cover the speed of speed.

The judgment: passed

Castillo is only 31 years old. There may still be a lot left in the tank. If he had a one -year contract, it would be a light hit for me. Unfortunately, they exchange Castillo for three years. His arm angle deteriorated and he lost a little speed last year. Perhaps the right pitching trainer can help him get back into shape and to give him three more seasons at a top level. Personally, I think that 2024 was a sign for the future and that it would be a mistake to commit to Castillo for three seasons.