MLB Rumors: Luis Castillo Trade Discussed Between Mariners, Orioles amid Free Agency

After losing Corbin Burnes in free agency, the Baltimore Orioles appear to be focused on the trade market to upgrade their rotation going into the 2025 season.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi (starts at :55 mark), the Orioles and Seattle Mariners have had discussions about a deal involving Luis Castillo.

It's unclear how deep talks between the two sides have been, but Morosi did note there are several hurdles that would have to be cleared for anything to happen.

Castillo has a full no-trade clause in his contract that he would have to waive. He is also owed $72.5 million over the next three seasons, plus a $25 million vesting option for 2028 if he pitches at least 180 innings in 2027.

The option becomes a $5 million club option if he misses least 130 days due to a UCL injury between 2025 and 2027.

Despite having new ownership after David Rubenstein officially took over last March, the Orioles have yet to show they are willing to make aggressive moves. Even the trade for Burnes with the Milwaukee Brewers last season only cost Baltimore one top-100 prospect in Joey Ortiz.

Ortiz was superfluous to the Orioles because he is a middle infielder. They have Gunnar Henderson at shortstop and Jackson Holliday in line to become the starting second baseman in 2025.

The Mariners desperately need to add more punch to their lineup, so potentially trading from their rotation would be one way of doing so. Morosi noted they could look to add a young hitter from the Orioles in a potential deal with Castillo, or they could use the financial savings by moving on from his contract to add one of the top remaining free agents.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported last month the Mariners had some hesitation about trading Castillo because they don't have any frontline starting pitching prospects in the upper levels of the minors who could step in to his spot.

Starting pitching is Seattle's greatest strength right now. Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo were the anchors of the starting staff that led MLB in ERA (3.38) and ranked fourth in FanGraphs' wins above replacement (15.2) last year.

A three-time All-Star, Castillo finished with a 3.64 ERA and 175 strikeouts in 175.1 innings in 30 starts during the 2024 season.