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SEATTLE -- Luis Castillo’s brief two months with the Mariners have been perhaps a microcosm of where Seattle’s front office stands and how far it has come from when it embarked on a massive roster overhaul beginning in 2019.
When the Mariners acquired Castillo at the Trade Deadline, they didn’t just bring in a top-end pitcher for a playoff push. They also showed him a positive clubhouse culture, supplemental pieces that could lead to sustained winning beyond 2022 and a $108 million offer in line with what would’ve been market value in free agency. For all those reasons, Castillo went all-in by committing his prime years to Seattle.
“I think this is what we dreamed up when we went through the initial stage of [the rebuild],” Jerry Dipoto, the Mariners' president of baseball operations said. “It was to build a young strong foundation from which to grow and then to go out and acquire impact players who could come in here and take us to that next level. And I think it's happening. It's happening for us right now. It's going to continue to happen for us.”
With the backing of Mariners chairman and managing general partner John Stanton, Dipoto and assistant GM Justin Hollander always said that the Mariners would spend when the time was right, and it’s been a watershed year in that regard.
That spending has also been on talent that the club has acquired and cultivated, with Robbie Ray’s free-agent deal last offseason the only one among players that weren’t already under club control. Castillo joined Julio Rodríguez, J.P. Crawford and Andrés Muñoz among players receiving long-term extensions over the past 12 months, and Marco Gonzales also fits this bill on a deal he signed in 2020.
“It's incredibly gratifying to know that we have the backing of ownership as we got to this point,” Dipoto said. “We were able to reach deals with Luis, with Robbie Ray, with Julio, with J.P. to keep that talent here in Seattle and continue to add rather than just sitting back and watching what we've done because we haven't done anything yet. All we've done is created a pool of talent to move forward with.”
Dipoto called these deals “landmark events” in the scope of Seattle’s long-term roster trajectory, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the front office attempt to lock up more homegrown talent. Here’s a look at other extension candidates on the active roster, listed in the order in which they’re eligible for free agency:
RF Mitch Haniger
Free agent: 2023
At this point, any extension would probably only come in the form of a qualifying offer this offseason, given how close Haniger is to free agency. The QO is worth the mean salary of MLB's 125 highest-paid players and will likely be near $19 million for next season, more than Haniger’s total earnings over his six-year career. Given the uncertainty of Seattle’s outfield with Kyle Lewis’ long-term health and the struggles of Jarred Kelenic and Jesse Winker this season, bringing back the veteran on a shorter-yet-pricier deal that would allow him to re-establish his value (and health) might make sense for both sides.
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1B Ty France
Free agent: 2026
Seattle’s analytics staff loved France well before it acquired him in a 2020 trade that Dipoto has referred to as one of the most significant moments in the rebuild. With an everyday gig, France blossomed into an All-Star this year while playing above-average defense. He’s also had a team-first attitude, most notably by shifting to third base with Eugenio Suárez sidelined, and he’s taken on more of a leadership role. France, who is a contact-over-power hitter, also wouldn’t cost as much as Matt Olson ($168 million), Freddie Freeman ($160 million) or Paul Goldschmidt ($130 million).
SP Logan Gilbert
Free agent: 2028
The towering righty has been a workhorse in his first full MLB season, leading the league with 31 starts and the team with 177 2/3 innings. He’s had a few bumps this year as he navigates the rigors of the six-month stretch for the first time, but he’s also shown stretches of complete dominance, winning AL Pitcher of the Month honors in April. Starting pitchers with a five-pitch mix, elite velocity -- and above all, acumen -- don’t grow on trees, and the 24-year-old has already shown big upside for the long term.
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C Cal Raleigh
Free agent: 2028
Despite what Raleigh showed in the Minors, even he didn’t envision that he’d lead all MLB catchers with a whopping 25 homers this year. Not only that, but Raleigh has also been a vital bat for the Mariners this year, ranking third on the team behind only Rodríguez and Suárez with 4.0 wins above replacement, per FanGraphs. For a position that has taken such a huge collective dip in offensive production this decade, Raleigh has shined while also taking on a more pronounced role overseeing a diverse pitching staff.
SP George Kirby
Free agent: 2029
Like Gilbert, Kirby has already wowed in a small career sample, with an ability to throw strikes, install new pitches and shine against some of the most daunting opponents. He’s just 24 years old but has already shown that he belongs and despite his rookie status will be a huge part of the Mariners’ postseason plans if they reach during this final homestand. He’s the type of young pitcher that organizations build around.
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TRIVIA
Before Sunday’s outing and just after his contract was made official, Castillo was riding a record of 64 strikeouts across nine starts to begin his Mariners career -- the most since whom?
A.) Michael Pineda
B.) Félix Hernández
C.) Randy Johnson
D.) Mark Langston
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‘LA PIEDRA’
Castillo was asked during his press conference on Monday about the origin of his nickname, which means "stone" in Spanish. He cited two stories, both equally entertaining, told through interpreter Freddy Llanos:
• “When my mom was about to give birth to me, my dad was at work so when he came home and found my mom on the floor, he rushed to get a car. That was where my grandma met us and we rushed to the hospital. And every time that my mom had a contraction, my grandma put a rock on top of my mom's head to help reduce the pain. Crazy.”
• “The second part is, when I got traded to Cincinnati, I was in the bullpen and obviously I was the new guy, so I kind of wanted to show everybody my stuff. So I was in the bullpen, throwing 95-97 [mph], as hard as I could. One of the guys had told me, ‘You're throwing rocks out here.’ And when we went back in the clubhouse, he just asked me, 'You're throwing rocks out there -- how do you do it?' So, when I was bumped up to the Majors, he was the first one to greet me there and he said 'Viva La Piedra.'"
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DIPOTO DISHES ON FINAL STRETCH
After Castillo’s news conference, Dipoto discussed the club’s disappointing road trip, its health status and what he hopes for in the final 10 games.
Q: What did you see in the collapse on Sunday?
A: I’ve seen a lot of baseball over the years. My dad, who was with me at the game yesterday, summarized it best. He said, ‘I can't believe what I'm watching.’ and I'm certain that everybody feels that way. And I bet the players do, too.
Q: What were your takeaways from the road trip?
A: It was a tough trip. We didn't play well. We didn't pitch well. We didn't defend well, and we were banged up. We were playing without some of the highest impact players in our lineup and we didn't respond in the way that you'd hoped we would.
Q: How do you hope the team responds?
A: Hopefully now as we get home and take a breath, we get the home crowd, we get the cool air and we get back to doing what we do, which we had four wonderful months that led us to this point. And we're not going to let a couple of injuries or a rough road trip take us off track.
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FROM THE VAULT
One year ago today, the Mariners began their final homestand behind the theme of “Believe,” a phrase both simplistic and optimistic in what became one of the most defining moments in Seattle’s multi-year rebuild. And that week all started with a pair of epic three-run homers from Mitch Haniger.
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BALLPARK EXPERIENCES
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Final Homestand: The Electric Factory will be buzzing again soon. Be here for the Postseason push and secure your seats today. The final homestand of the regular season begins on Tuesday, Sept. 27. Get tickets at Mariners.com/SingleGame.
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Mariners Value Games: The final homestand opens with three Mariners Value Games vs. the Rangers from Sept. 27-29. Each game gets started at 6:40 p.m. and you can snag $10 View, $20 Main and $30 Terrace Club seats. Buy Tickets
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TRIVIA ANSWER
A.) Michael Pineda (61 in 2011)
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