Major League Baseball

Luis Castillo's quiet confidence providing a spark for Seattle Mariners

Updated Aug. 24, 2022 8:31 p.m. ET

By Rowan Kavner
FOX Sports MLB Writer

Luis Castillo thought he’d end up in pinstripes.

As the trade deadline approached, the Cincinnati Reds looked like obvious sellers. Castillo emerged as the prime target for a team trying to upgrade its starting pitching — one of the lone available arms capable of guiding a rotation.

In other words, he was the exact type of pitcher who might entice the Yankees.

"I talked to my agent, and he was telling me, ‘The Yankees are very interested in you,’" Castillo told FOX Sports through an interpreter.

He heard they were making "a big push." And on July 14, they saw up close what he could do.

Castillo limited the dangerous Yankees lineup to one run on two hits in seven innings. Afterward, MVP candidate Aaron Judge called him one of the best pitchers in the league. Yankees manager Aaron Boone added his own take: "He’s nasty."

Much to their chagrin, the Yankees have now seen plenty of Castillo — in a different uniform.

"On the last day," Castillo said, "they told me it was Seattle."

Given a chance to make the postseason for the first time in 21 years, the Mariners — at the time holding the second AL wild-card spot — didn’t mess around. On July 30, they sent four prospects to Cincinnati for Castillo. At a deadline that included generational talent Juan Soto switching clubs, it was the deal for Castillo that included the highest-ranked prospect (Noelvi Marte).

The Yankees then had a front-row seat to see what they missed. In his first outing after the deadline, Castillo led the Mariners to a 7-3 win against New York and Gerrit Cole.

His next start? Also against Cole, also a win. Two days after Yankees deadline acquisition Frankie Montas surrendered six runs in a loss to the Cardinals, Castillo bested the Yankees for a second time in a six-day span. Cole hurled seven scoreless innings; Castillo fired eight.

"When I’m going against stellar pitchers, it kind of inspires me to be better," Castillo said. "I’m always going out there with the same mentality: If you’re good, so am I."

Prior to the deadline, Seattle already boasted one of the top pitching staffs in baseball. Before the All-Star break, the Mariners ranked fifth in the majors in ERA (3.53) and sixth in WHIP (1.20). Robbie Ray is coming off a Cy Young campaign, and rookies Logan Gilbert and George Kirby look the part.

But the addition of Castillo completes the group, giving the Mariners a top-of-the-rotation talent who could help them not just make the playoffs but also make noise once there.

The trade also demonstrated a commitment to Mariners players and fans following last year’s 90-win, second-place season that left them two games short of a playoff spot: This opportunity won’t be going to waste.

"To add another horse like that, it just shows that they’re trying to win now," infielder Ty France said.

Castillo, while motivated by a chance to compete for a championship, knew little of his new home. The only time he visited Seattle previously was a mid-September trip the Reds made in 2019.

France knew a little of what Castillo was facing. Two years ago, during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, France was in the middle of a fantasy football draft with his San Diego teammates when the Padres traded him to Seattle.

"Kind of having to start over in that aspect, I only knew maybe one or two guys over here," France said. "Leaving a group you’re completely comfortable with and coming into a new environment, for me, personally, that was the hardest part. Thankfully, in [Castillo’s] case, he’s got a handful of guys over here he’s played with before. Definitely makes that transition a little easier."

In Seattle, Castillo has former Reds Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suarez and, now, Curt Casali, another deadline acquisition adjusting to a new environment. Casali caught Castillo for three years in Cincinnati from 2018 to '20.

"It’s a lot," Casali said of navigating a trade. "But that’s a part of the business and what we sign up to do. They pay us a lot of money to easily make transitions like that and succeed, but it’s also awesome to come to a winning ballclub, a lot of energy and a great place to potentially do some damage."

Castillo adds to that energy, more through his play than vocally. He possesses a quiet confidence that his new teammates and coaches have already noticed.

"The one thing about Luis, his demeanor on the mound, obviously he’s very competitive, but he always looks in control," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "That’s a good sign. It’s really good for our younger starting pitchers to watch."

Castillo, who said he has always possessed that calm demeanor and positivity on the mound, wasted little time endearing himself to his new group.

In his first three starts with Seattle, he allowed a combined five runs, struck out 24 batters and bested Cole (twice) and Shohei Ohtani. In his fourth start, he took his first Mariners loss after allowing four earned runs in five innings on Sunday against the Athletics. It was Castillo's first loss since June 10.

"How he gets the ball, gets on the mound and goes after guys, he’s not scared of anybody," France said. "It doesn’t matter if you’re Ohtani or Aaron Judge. He’s going right at you. He just has that confidence about him that he’s the best guy on the field."

On Aug. 15 in Anaheim, Castillo put men on the corners with two outs. He then fired three straight four-seam fastballs past Andrew Velazquez to escape the threat. It was more of the same for Castillo, who to that pointed sported a .193 opponents’ batting average with runners in scoring position on the season.

Four innings later, a 3-2 sinker got away from him in a tie game and plunked Taylor Ward. Castillo responded with three straight strikeouts — one with the changeup that gained him acclaim and two with a four-seam fastball that has taken a noteworthy leap forward. This season is the first since 2018 in which Castillo has thrown his four-seamer more than his changeup.

Opponents were hitting better than .250 against his four-seam fastball every year until this season. This year, they hold a measly .138 batting average, with 57 strikeouts against the pitch, and neither righties (.136 batting average, 33 strikeouts) nor lefties (.140 average, 24 strikeouts) have figured it out. Castillo lives low in the zone with most of his mix — particularly his highly effective changeup — then elevates with velocity to get hitters to chase.

That's what stands out most to Casali when he watches Castillo now.

"Two, three years ago, we started to do that, I think at the end of the 2020 COVID year," he said. "It seemed to open up a light bulb for him. I just think it’s cool that he’s getting there consistently at the top of the zone."

Castillo has recorded 462 strikeouts on his changeup since 2017 — no other pitcher is within 100 strikeouts of that mark in that time — yet Casali thinks the four-seamer has now surpassed it.

Each of the past four years, Castillo threw his changeup more than 40% of the time once he got two strikes on a hitter. Now, with two strikes, he’s throwing four-seamers more than any other pitch (34.5%), but he’s still comfortable going to his changeup, sinker or slider to keep opponents off-balance.

"It just makes his changeup even more effective, and he can always throw that two-seamer whenever he wants," Casali said. "But his demeanor is the same. He’s still the same happy guy, great person we all grew to love. Just happy to see him succeeding at such an incredible level right now."

In that Aug. 15 game, the only runs Castillo allowed were a home run on a ball that tipped off Julio Rodríguez’s glove after the center fielder collided with right fielder Mitch Haniger and a shift-beating, RBI ground-ball single. After tallying three straight strikeouts to end the sixth inning, Castillo did a twist on the mound, calmly pumped his fist and sauntered back to the dugout.

Now, for the second time in his career — and the first time since he held the Braves to one run in 5⅔ innings in the 2020 NL Wild Card Game, Castillo has an opportunity for postseason baseball.

"It inspires me a lot," he said. "I’m motivated to go every time I go to the mound."

His franchise, on the cusp of its first playoff appearance since 2001, can feel it, too.

"Luis carries that confidence," Casali said, "and it transfers to the rest of us."

Rowan Kavner covers the Dodgers and NL West for FOX Sports. A proud LSU alumnus, he credits his time as a sportswriter and editor at The Daily Reveille for preparing him for a career covering the NFL, NBA and MLB. Prior to joining FOX, he worked as the Dodgers’ editor of digital and print publications. When not at a stadium or watching sports, Rowan enjoys playing with his dog, hiking, running, golfing and reminiscing about the Mavs’ 2011 championship run. You can find him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.