The Seattle Mariners have made their move as the organization looks to get to the postseason for the first time since 2001.
Friday night, the Mariners traded for Cincinnati Reds pitcher Luis Castillo, sending four minor leaguers to Cincinnati in the deal.
Castillo was widely viewed as the top pitcher on the trade market, posting a 2.86 ERA in 85.0 innings, striking out 90 and walking 28 in 14 starts.
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"He's one of the best pitchers in the game," said Mariners manager Scott Servais, according to MLB.com. "Really established himself as a dominant starter in the National League. We've got a couple of his former teammates with us. They know him very well and they speak very highly of his stuff, his competitiveness."
Seattle's last playoff appearance came in 2001 after the Mariners won an MLB record 116 games during the regular season. Last year, Seattle won 90 games, missing out on a wild-card spot by just two games.
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The Mariners are 54-47, 12 games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West. But Seattle has a ½-game advantage over the Tampa Bay Rays for the final wild-card spot, and the Mariners hope Castillo’s addition to the rotation will be enough to get them to October.
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"We see Luis Castillo as an impact, top-of-the-rotation starter who’s currently on top of his game," Seattle Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said. "Our goal remains to play in the postseason, now and in the years to come. We believe adding Luis is a big step in that direction."
Castillo was selected to his second All-Star Game in July.
"We've got a chance to do something really big here this year," Servais said. "You have got to step out and take a chance once in a while. If you ultimately want to get the reward, take a little risk, and that's what we’ve got here."
