It’s been an average year for Luis Castillo of the Seattle Mariners.
How average?
Well, in eight seasons in Major League Baseball with the Cincinnati Reds and Mariners, Luis Castillo possesses a career ERA of 3.54. In 20 starts in 2024, Castillo’s ERA is 3.53.
But the three-time All-Star who finished fifth in last year’s American League Cy Young balloting put together a terrific week for the Mariners, throwing 12.2 innings in two starts while allowing one run on six hits, with Seattle winning both games that Castillo pitched. The pair of solid outings earned Castillo World Baseball Network‘s International MLB Player of the Week honors.
Castillo, 31, is a native of Bani, Dominican Republic, on the country’s south coast, less than an hour west of Santo Domingo. He threw 6.2 innings in a 2-1 Mariners win against Toronto on July 5, the only blemish a solo homer by Kevin Kiermaier in the sixth inning. On Thursday, July 11, Castillo twirled six scoreless innings as the Mariners trounced the Los Angeles Angels 11-0 at the Big A.
He began his professional career in the San Francisco Giants organization, signing as an international free agent in 2011, and was traded to the Miami Marlins in 2014. The Marlins dealt Castillo to the Reds in January 2017, and he was in the Major Leagues less than six months later, making his debut on June 23, 2017. Castillo finished his rookie year with a 3.12 ERA and an ERA+ of 144, marks that earned him enough votes to finish eighth in the National League Rookie of the Year balloting.
The Mariners acquired Castillo from Cincinnati at the 2022 trade deadline, sending Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Andrew Moore and Levi Stoudt to the Reds, and rewarded Castillo that September with a five-year, $108 million deal with a vesting option for a sixth year. According to Spotrac, the option vests at $25 million for the 2028 season if Castillo throws 180 innings during the 2027 campaign, but converts to a team option at $5 million should Castillo miss more than 130 days between 2025 and 2027 due to an ulnar collateral ligament injury.
Castillo is not expected to pitch again until after the All-Star Break, which begins Monday and runs through Thursday of next week. The Mariners return from the break with a three-game series against the Houston Astros that begins Friday, July 19.
Photo Credit: Luis Castillo of the Seattle Mariners throws against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
