Mariners Activate Julio Rodriguez
Oct. 3: The Mariners have made it official, announcing that Rodriguez has been reinstated from the IL, with catcher Curt Casali being reinstated from the paternity list. In corresponding moves, catcher Brian O’Keefe and infielder Abraham Toro were optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Additionally, right-hander Phillips Valdez, who was designated for assignment last week, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Tacoma.
Oct. 2: Monday is the first day that Julio Rodriguez is eligible to be activated from the 10-day injured list, and Mariners manager Scott Servais said the team is hoping that the star rookie will indeed be ready to return as soon as possible. Servais told The Seattle Times’ Shane Lantz and other reporters that Rodriguez will take part in baseball activities (including “a bunch of swings“) today, and if he feels okay, Rodriguez will be back in the lineup for tomorrow’s game against the Tigers.
Rodriguez has been sidelined by a lower back strain, and though the injury wasn’t thought to be too serious, the Mariners felt an IL stint was necessary given how Rodriguez had been missing games even prior to his placement on the injured list. Even with the M’s in the heat of the postseason chase, the team naturally didn’t want to take any risks with their young cornerstone, and the caution paid off — Seattle still clinched a wild card berth, and will be heading to the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
The next step is to get the team as close to peak form as possible, and the Mariners will need Rodriguez to be ready to go. As Servais noted, “the thing you always worry about when you are out 10 days is timing. What’s the timing going to be like at the plate?….That’s why I want to get Julio in there as soon as we can, to see how his body reacts and also get him as many at-bats as we can, and feel good about where he is at heading into the playoffs.”
This is Rodriguez’s second IL stint of his rookie season, as he also missed just slightly beyond the 10-day minimum in late July and early August due to a right wrist contusion. These brief injury absences have been pretty much the only down notes in an otherwise spectacular debut for Rodriguez, who has hit .280/.342/.502 with 27 homers and 25 steals over 549 plate appearances. Rodriguez is the favorite to win AL Rookie of the Year honors, and the Mariners have already cemented him as the face of the franchise by signing J-Rod to a long-term extension that is worth at least $210MM over 12 years (and could ultimately be a whopping 18-year, $470MM deal).
Mariners Promote Justin Hollander To General Manager
The Mariners announced today that Justin Hollander has been promoted to executive vice president & general manager of baseball operations. Hollander had previously been serving in the Mariners front office as vice president & assistant general manager of baseball operations, and has been with the organization since September 2016. Prior to that, Hollander spent nine seasons as a member of the Angels front office. Hollander’s promotion comes a year after Jerry Dipoto was promoted from GM to president of baseball operations. Dipoto will continue to lead Seattle’s front office in that role.
With this promotion, Seattle has ensured that Hollander will remain with the organization going into next season. Front office executives don’t typically interview for lateral moves from one organization to the other, so the only way for an opposing club to pry Hollander away from the Mariners would be by offering him the opportunity to take the lead role in their organization’s baseball operations infrastructure. The Tigers, Royals, and Rangers have all fired high profile front office officials this season and could potentially be among the teams looking for external additions to their front office this offseason.
Hollander’s promotion comes at the end of a very successful 2022 regular season for Seattle. In addition to clinching a playoff berth and ending the longest postseason drought across the four major North American professional sports, the Mariners have signed likely 2022 AL Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez to an extension that should keep him in Seattle for most of his career and both traded for and extended All Star right-hander Luis Castillo.
The Mariners currently hold the second AL wild card spot and, if postseason positioning doesn’t shift in the coming days, will be playing the three-game wild card series in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
Mariners Designate Phillips Valdez For Assignment
The Mariners announced they’ve designated right-hander Phillips Valdez for assignment. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for backstop Brian O’Keefe, whose selection to the majors was reported this morning.
Valdez was claimed off waivers by Seattle in late July after the Red Sox designated him for assignment. The righty had been with the Red Sox since the 2020 season, when they claimed him off waivers themselves from the Rangers. For his major league career, Valdez has posted a 4.56 ERA and matching 4.59 FIP in 102 2/3 innings.
Valdez never made it into a game for Seattle this season, though he posted a 4.41 ERA in 16 1/3 innings with Boston this season. Otherwise, he has pitched at the Triple-A level this season, posting a 3.60 ERA across 39 innings split between the Worcester Red Sox and the Tacoma Rainiers. While his Triple-A numbers have been respectable this season, Valdez has seemingly struggled with his command during his time in the majors this season, walking seven while hitting another six batters.
Seattle will have 7 days to either release Valdez or send him through outright waivers. Should he be outrighted, Valdez will qualify for minor league free agency this offseason unless the Mariners add him back onto the 40-man roster. With Valdez off the 40-man, the Mariners still have Brennan Bernardino, Juan Then, and Justus Sheffield on the roster as depth options in the minors.
Mariners To Select Brian O’Keefe
The Seattle Mariners have selected the contract of catcher Brian O’Keefe from Triple-A Tacoma, reports Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times (Twitter link). In a corresponding move, M’s catcher Curt Casali has been placed on the paternity list.
This will be the first major league action for O’Keefe, age 29, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Cardinals in 2014. After spending five seasons in St. Louis’s system, O’Keefe was picked by Seattle in the 2019 Rule 5 minor league draft. He spent two years in the Mariners farm system before electing free agency at the conclusion of the 2021 season, where he eventually agreed to stay with the M’s on a minor league deal. With Casali out of action for at least 24, but no more than 72 hours, O’Keefe will join the big league club for the first time in his nine seasons as a pro.
O’Keefe has spent all of his 2022 campaign at Triple-A Tacoma, where he has had one of his finest minor league seasons. Thus far, he has hit 13 home runs and posted a productive .253/.330/.449 slash in 352 plate appearances. More than seventy-five percent of O’Keefe’s 2022 appearances for Tacoma have been at catcher, where Baseball Prospectus rates him as an excellent framer, with the rest coming as a designated hitter.
Casali is all but assured to rejoin the Mariners as soon as his time on the paternity list ends. If Seattle is going to keep O’Keefe on the active roster beyond Casali’s return, they will have to make room for him. The M’s 40-man roster is currently full, and the only obvious 60-day IL candidate is lefty reliever Ryan Borucki, who has already been out since August 8th.
Mariners Expect To Activate Eugenio Suarez On Tuesday
The Mariners are likely to reinstate Eugenio Suárez from the injured list tomorrow, president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told reporters (including Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times and Curtis Crabtree of Fox 13). He’ll be deployed as a designated hitter initially, as the fracture in his right index finger is still inhibiting him defensively.
In even better news for the M’s, Dipoto said star center fielder Julio Rodríguez “looks great” as he rehabs from the lower back strain that sent him to the injured list last week. Dipoto indicated the club anticipates he’ll be ready for reinstatement when first eligible next Monday.
Getting both players back after brief absences is critical for a Mariners team trying to secure its first playoff berth in over two decades. The M’s enter play Monday with an 83-69 record that has them in possession of the American League’s final Wild Card spot. They’re four games clear of the Orioles, and they’re within 2 1/2 games of both the Blue Jays and Rays as they jockey for Wild Card position.
Assuming the Mariners hold onto a playoff spot in some capacity, they look likely to enter the postseason with both Suárez and Rodríguez on the roster. That duo has arguably been Seattle’s top two position players this year. Rodríguez has emerged as the face of the franchise with an incredible rookie season, hitting .280/.342/.502 with 27 home runs and 25 stolen bases across 549 plate appearances. Suárez, meanwhile, leads the team with 31 homers and has a .235/.335/.470 line. It has been a surprising bounceback after a .198/.286/.428 showing his final year with the Reds.
The Mariners have turned to Ty France and Abraham Toro at third base in Suárez’s absence. They’ll presumably continue to split the hot corner until he’s ready to return to action defensively, while Jesse Winker will probably get more action in left field after serving as the DH of late. That’d come at the expense of playing time for Sam Haggerty and Taylor Trammell. Center field, meanwhile, has been the purview of Jarred Kelenic since Rodríguez went down.
Mariners Sign Luis Castillo To Extension
SEPTEMBER 26: Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports the financial breakdown. Castillo receives a $7MM signing bonus and a $10MM salary for next season, followed by successive $22.75MM salaries between 2024-27. The ’28 options vests if Castillo throws 180 innings in 2027 and receives confirmation from an independent physician after the season that he hasn’t suffered an injury that’d require him to begin the following year on the injured list. The deal also contains a $1MM assignment bonus that’d kick in if he were traded at any point between 2025-27.
SEPTEMBER 24: Luis Castillo has gone from trade deadline prize to franchise cornerstone, as the right-hander has signed a five-year, $108MM extension with the Mariners. The deal could be worth up to $133MM based on a vesting option for the 2028 season, and that option vests if Castillo throws at least 180 innings in 2027. The Mariners can also receive a $5MM club option Castillo’s services for 2028 should he miss more than 130 days in 2025-27 due to a UCL repair procedure. Castillo will also receive a full no-trade clause for the extension’s first three seasons.
Castillo was slated to become a free agent after the 2023 season, but the Republik Sports client will instead stick with the Mariners for at least four years beyond that original date. The Mariners’ official announcement of the extension included statements from both Castillo and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto.
“Luis has been one of the top pitchers in MLB over the past six seasons,” Dipoto said. “He is a dynamic power pitcher in the prime of his career with a track record of consistency. Bringing him to Seattle represented a key moment in our ongoing efforts to build a championship roster. Similarly, this deal illustrates our continued commitment to both the present and future of this team.”
“I feel great,” Castillo said. “Every baseball player wants to have a dream like this become a reality. I’m happy I was able to accomplish this with the Mariners and I want to thank everybody in the organization for treating me so well.”
Castillo, 29, began his major league career with the Reds, establishing himself as an excellent starting pitcher. From his 2017 debut through 2021, he made 123 starts and pitched to an ERA of 3.72. That mark is all the more impressive given the hitter-friendly nature of Great American Ball Park, with both Statcast and ESPN ranking it second behind Coors Field in that department. He was able to attain that level of success by getting ground balls on 53.9% of batted balls while striking out 26.2% of hitters faced, both of those numbers being much better than league average. He also displayed adequate control, walking 8.8% of hitters who came to the plate, a mark that’s roughly league average. He produced 14.5 wins above replacement in that time, according to FanGraphs, a mark that ranks among the top 20 among all pitchers in the league.
The most recent offseason got off to an ominous start for the Reds, as general manager Nick Krall said that the club “must align our payroll to our resources and continue focusing on scouting and developing young talent from within our system” in the wake of Tucker Barnhart‘s trade to the Tigers. Trade rumors immediately began swirling around Castillo, along with his rotation mates Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle. Gray would be dealt to Minnesota in March but the Reds hung onto Mahle and Castillo to start the year. Castillo was slowed by some shoulder soreness early in camp but returned to the mound in May and didn’t show any rust when retaking the hill. Through 14 starts with Cincy, he had an ERA of 2.86 along with a 47.1% ground ball rate, 25.8% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.
Despite Castillo’s contributions, the Reds unsurprisingly got poor results overall with their ongoing selloff. Castillo was once again the focus of trade rumors as the deadline approached, with the Padres, Twins, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Cardinals and Astros among those showing interest. Ultimately, the Mariners won the bidding by sending prospects Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Levi Stoudt and Andrew Moore to Cincinnati. Since the trade, Castillo has continued his excellent season by making another nine starts with a 2.83 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate. It seems the M’s got exactly what they wanted out of Castillo and locked him up long-term.
The price point is something of a surprise, given the most recent comparison is probably José Berríos. After being acquired by Blue Jays last year, Berríos was heading into his final year before free agency but agreed to a seven-year, $131MM extension. Berríos is having a terrible year here in 2022 but was actually on pretty similar footing to Castillo when he signed that deal. From 2017 to 2021, Berríos produced 15.2 fWAR, the same stretch that saw Castillo produce 14.5. Castillo has agreed to delay his free agency in exchange for less money and fewer years, though a higher average annual value. Berríos’ deal comes with an AAV of $18.7 whereas Castillo’s is $21.6MM, though if he vests the option it would take it up to $22.17MM.
For the Mariners, it’s still a significant investment in a starting pitcher, their second in the past year. They signed Robbie Ray to a five-year, $115MM deal back in November. Those two will now continue forming a core in the rotation for at least the next four seasons after this one. Logan Gilbert, whom the club drafted and developed, isn’t slated to reach free agency until after the 2027 season. George Kirby is one year behind Gilbert and should be around through the 2028 campaign, giving the M’s a core four that can anchor the rotation for quite some time. There’s also Marco Gonzales, whose contract runs through 2024 with a club option for 2025. The club is so awash in starting pitching that Chris Flexen, who triggered a vesting option for 2023, has been bumped to bullpen duty despite a 3.69 ERA on the season.
The Mariners haven’t made the postseason since 2001, the largest active playoff drought in the majors. They are well-positioned to snap that streak here in 2022, currently holding down the final American League Wild Card spot with a three-game cushion over the Orioles. With their rotation seemingly set for years to come and a position player core that includes Julio Rodriguez, J.P. Crawford, Eugenio Suarez and others, they should continue competing into the future as well.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter links) was the first to report about Castillo’s extension, and the clause related to the UCL injury. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the 180-inning threshold for the vesting option, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported the details of Castillo’s no-trade protection.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Jake Lamb Elects Free Agency
The Mariners announced that infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb, designated for assignment earlier this week, has cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency. As a player with more than five years of MLB service time, Lamb has the right to reject an outright assignment without forfeiting any salary.
It’s been a mercurial season for Lamb, who turns 32 years old in a couple weeks. He began the year with the Dodgers on a minor league deal that would pay him $1.5MM in the majors, but he didn’t crack the Opening Day roster. He went down to Oklahoma City and crushed baseballs for a couple of months, socking 15 home runs in 61 games and slashing .290/.395/.537, wRC+ of 131.
The Dodgers selected his contract at the end of June and he continued hitting after his promotion, producing a line of .239/.338/.433 in 25 games with the Dodgers, good enough for a wRC+ of 120, or 20% above league average. Despite that solid showing, he was flipped to Seattle on deadline day for cash considerations.
Once he moved up the coast to Seattle, things look a turn for the worse. He struggled with his new team and saw his playing time dry up, only getting into five games in the month of September. Since the trade, he hit just .167/.265/.300 and lost his roster spot.
With just over a week remaining in the regular season, Lamb is now free to sign with any team, though he wouldn’t be eligible for the postseason. Teams can only include someone on their playoff roster if the player was in the organization prior to September 1. He can now be signed for the prorated league minimum with the Mariners on the hook for the remainder of his salary. Despite his recent downturn, Lamb should finish the season with an above-average batting line, barring an extended look elsewhere down the stretch. Between Los Angeles and Seattle, he hit .216/.315/.392 for a 105 wRC+ in 41 games. The veteran corner infielder has expanded his defensive repertoire in recent seasons to include corner outfield work.
Mariners Place Julio Rodriguez On Injured List
The Mariners announced they’ve placed Julio Rodríguez on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain. Seattle recalled Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma to take the vacated active roster spot.
Rodríguez has battled back soreness for a few days, and the issue was serious enough the club sent him for an MRI this afternoon. Manager Scott Servais told reporters this evening the team’s doctors were still evaluating the imaging results results before determining whether an IL stint would be necessary (via Adam Jude of the Seattle Times). Further specifics on Rodríguez’s condition aren’t clear, but the issue is evidently serious enough it’ll cost him at least a week and a half.
There are 12 days remaining in the regular season, so it’s possible Rodríguez makes it back by the start of the postseason. Needless to say, the M’s would surely be better off if he can get back in time for the opening round of the playoffs. With a four-game cushion over the Orioles for the American League’s final Wild Card spot, the Mariners are in strong position to secure their first postseason berth in over two decades. Embarking on a long playoff run would certainly be a lot tougher without the AL Rookie of the Year candidate, as Rodríguez is already Seattle’s best player.
During his debut campaign, Rodríguez has connected on 27 home runs and stolen 25 bases. He’s the only player in the majors who has already eclipsed 25 homers and steals apiece, and he owns an overall .280/.342/.502 line through 549 plate appearances. Rodríguez has paired that excellent offensive production with above-average center field defense in cementing himself among the sport’s top young stars.
For whatever time Rodríguez is out, the Mariners are set to turn to one of their other former top outfield prospects. Jarred Kelenic has yet to cement himself as a big league regular, owning a .170/.250/.340 line over 504 MLB plate appearances. The one-time sixth overall pick and consensus top prospect just recently turned 23 years old, though, and he’s raked at a .295/.365/.557 clip in 86 games in Tacoma this year. Servais confirmed that Kelenic would be the everyday center fielder for as long as Rodríguez is out of action (Jude link).
Julio Rodríguez Undergoing MRI Due To Lower Back Tightness
Mariners 21-year-old rookie superstar Julio Rodríguez left tonight’s game with lower back tightness, furthering the saga that began earlier this week. As reported by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Rodríguez did not undergo an MRI when he first experienced the lower back tightness over the weekend in Anaheim, but is now scheduled to receive imaging tomorrow in Kansas City. When asked about Rodríguez after the game, Mariners manager Scott Servais labeled the young star’s back troubles as “concerning.”
Rodríguez is having a fantastic start to his career, slashing .279/.341/.499 for an OPS of .840 and a WRC+ of 143, the second highest for qualified CF, only behind MVP-candidate Aaron Judge. His strong performance earned him a trip to the All-Star game, and he is the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year award.
An extended absence would be tough to weather for the Mariners, who recently signed a massive extension with Rodríguez that can run through the 2039 season and are in the hunt for a wildcard spot, currently two games back of Toronto for the first wildcard spot and tied with Tampa Bay for the second spot. The Mariners have also recently placed Eugenio Suárez on the 10-day injured list with a fracture in the tip of his right index finger.
Rodríguez’s presence in the lineup every day has been a much-needed bat for a paltry Seattle offense. Seattle’s team slash line of .227/.311/.388 features the second third-lowest batting average in the league and roughly league-average OBP, SLG, and OPS. Even with these struggles, if the regular season ended today, the Mariners would be in the postseason.
Mariners Select Luis Torrens, Designate Jake Lamb
The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today, recalling outfielder Jarred Kelenic and selecting the contract of catcher Luis Torrens. In corresponding moves, outfielder Taylor Trammell was optioned to Triple-A while infielder/outfielder Jake Lamb was designated for assignment.
Torrens, 26, had a strong season for Seattle last year but struggled to carry that forward into 2022. He was hitting .214/.262/.252 in August, producing a wRC+ of just 53. For a catcher with a bat-first reputation, that was clearly not cutting it, leading the club to designate him for assignment. Torrens cleared waivers and was outrighted but will now return to the club just over a month later to get another crack at things. The M’s already have a couple of catchers in Curt Casali and Cal Raleigh, though Raleigh has missed a few games this week due to thumb soreness. Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times also adds that Casali is expected to go on paternity leave soon, compounding the need for some extra depth behind the plate.
Lamb, 31, began the year with the Dodgers but was traded to Seattle just prior to the deadline. He hit .239/.338/.433 for a wRC+ of 120 in Los Angeles but hasn’t been able to carry that up the coast with him. He’s hit just .167/.265/.300 since joining the Mariners, producing a wRC+ of 70. Due to that tepid showing, he’ll relinquish his roster spot to Torrens.
Of course, outside the 40-man roster implications, today’s moves also carry intrigue for Seattle given that they are swapping out a pair of young outfielders. Kelenic, 23, arrived with much fanfare in May of 2021 as one of the top prospects in the sport, but struggled in his first taste of MLB action. He’s been bounced on and off the club’s major league roster ever since but always scuffling in the bigs. Through 133 major league games so far, he has a batting line of .167/.246/.329 for a wRC+ of 63. He’s been on a heater in Triple-A this year, however, showcasing why he’s always been considered such an exciting young player. In 86 games for Tacoma this season, he’s hit 18 long balls and stolen nine bases, creating a batting line of .295/.365/.557 for a wRC+ of 123. Of course, he’s often hit well but then struggled after a major league promotion, but he’ll now get another chance to break that cycle.
The Mariners have been scuffling a bit lately but are still in good position to break their 21-year postseason drought. They are holding onto the final AL Wild Card spot at the moment, five games ahead of the Orioles with just two weeks left on the schedule. If Kelenic brings his hot bat up to the majors, he could both give the club a boost down the stretch and earn himself a spot on the playoff roster.