Who knows if a trade is eventually going to happen or not, but one thing has become clear heading into the Winter Meetings in Dallas, the Cubs and Mariners have been talking and it looks like some big names have been tossed around in trade ideas. A report earlier this week out of Seattle had the Mariners and Cubs discussing a trade involving Nico Hoerner and now Chicago radio host David Kaplan has a new trade rumor.
According to the ESPN 1000 personality, the Cubs have talked about acquiring three-time All-Star Luis Castillo from the Mariners. Kaplan also added to the Garrett Crochet discourse, saying the Cubs are in on him as well. But the big new info here is Castillo. While fans have been speculating what starting pitcher the Cubs could be targeting in trade talks with the Mariners, this is the first time we've had a concrete name said publicly.
"I made some calls today and there's some smoke here we'll see if there's fire. Cubs reportedly looking at a high-end starting pitcher via trade not in free agency and are reportedly involved in trade talks with the White Sox on Garrett Crochet and the Mariners on Luis Castillo."
Clip below.
So, when we started to go over the Hoerner trade rumor that came from Seattle on Wednesday, I thought the pitching target would be Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller. Didn't really think about Castillo for one big reason, his contract.
However, what if the Cubs trade Cody Bellinger for Luis Castillo?
Before Kaplan dropped Castillo's name Thursday night, 670 The Score's Bruce Levine reported that three teams had already checked in with the Cubs on Bellinger. One of those teams? The Seattle Mariners.
Cody Bellinger's trade market is beginning to heat up, writes @MLBBruceLevine.https://t.co/zyxW3anin9 pic.twitter.com/rAfw352hRD
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 5, 2024
Levine added this detail in his story.
The Cubs don't seem willing to eat money in a trade of Bellinger, nor do they intend to just give him away.
Wishful thinking of course, but maybe the Cubs found a dance partner with the Mariners.
Seattle's front office has reportedly been restricted payroll wise this offseason, but the team is desperate to add multiple bats to their lineup. Meanwhile, the Mariners had the best starting rotation in MLB during the 2024 season and more depth if they did ultimately traded one of their starters. Castillo's contract could make him the ideal candidate for the Cubs when it comes to trading away Bellinger and his $27.5 million guaranteed salary for 2025.
Taking a quick look at Castillo's contract, he has three years left, owed $24.15 million every year through 2027. The right-hander also has a vesting option worth $25 million if he reaches 180 innings in 2027.
In terms of average annual value of Castillo's contract compared to Bellinger, the Cubs would actually save about $5 million if this was a straight up 1-for-1 trade. Castillo originally signed a five-year, $108 million deal with the Mariners. That's an AAV of $21.6 million. Bellinger's three-year, $80 million contract with the Cubs carries an AAV of $26.67 million.
Speaking of Castillo's contract, the veteran pitcher has a no-trade clause, so even if the two teams come to terms on a deal, Castillo would decide if he would accept going to the Cubs.
So, the Mariners get a lefty bat who can start at first base and fill in at all three outfield spots and pay an extra $5 million toward the luxury tax threshold. I mean that's better than not getting any hitter this offseason and for $5 million you're not getting an impact bat in free agency that's for sure. As for the Cubs, they get rid of Bellinger's contract and while they absorb Castillo's deal, they also get him at a relatively cheap cost compared to the current starting pitching market.
Castillo, 31, finished fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2023, and although he took a slight step back in 2024, the right-handed pitcher still had good numbers with a 3.64 ERA in 30 starts. He came up with the Cincinnati Reds and after making 15 starts during his rookie season in 2017, Castillo has thrown at least 150 innings in every full season since then. During the 2020 shortened schedule, Castillo made all 12 of his starts with the Reds as well.
I mean, a rotation of Luis Castillo, Justin Steele, Shōta Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd with 3-4 more depth options around sounds pretty damn nice. Losing Bellinger's versatility would hurt, but if this is possible I think I'd be all over it if I were the Cubs.
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