The trade deadline is here, and the Mariners made what they thought was their big swings.
First things first, a moment of silence for Luis Castillo. Trading for him at the deadline in 2022 felt like the beginning of this era of contention for the Mariners. I remember freaking out in my friend’s basement, excited that the Mariners had swiped a good player out from under the Yankees. His first start in Seattle against that same Yankees team ended up being the game of the year, and cemented him immediately as the savior of the 2022 Mariners. And of course his Wild Card Game 1 start against the Blue Jays was nothing short of a masterpiece. Luis Castillo was a lovable, talented, impactful player for the Mariners, and he will be missed. All that to say, it was a good trade.
The Mariners got OF Nolan Jones, RHP Seranthony Dominguez, and catching prospect Boston Smith, along with the White Sox taking on the rest of Luis Castillo’s contract. 2026 Luis Castillo never found his form in Seattle, with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in 99 innings. He was the odd man out all year, but hopefully he can find himself in Chicago. The White Sox are taking on the remainder of his contract, which is another two years and $49 million.
Seranthony Dominguez is the big bullpen get at the deadline. Dominguez is not the powerful arm he has been in years past, with a 4.89 ERA and 12 saves this season for Chicago. For a bullpen that needed a boost, he could provide that, but his first appearance last night went about as poorly as you could ask for, giving up 2 home runs in 0.1 innings, all but falling on his face out of the gate. So if this is the state of the Mariners bullpen, Matt Brash is sorely needed back soon.
Nolan Jones probably won’t see the majors this season unless someone else gets hurt (always a possibility) but he’s been fine, slashing .252/.357/.436 in the minors this season. He’s a decent backup piece, but probably nothing more. Doesn’t really move the needle. Boston Smith does interest me, slashing .286/.444/.580 across three levels of minor league ball this season. He is raking down there, and could find himself working his way up sooner rather than later. Obviously his major league time is blocked by Cal Raleigh, but there’s always a good fight for the backup spot. Overall, this was a solid trade for the Mariners (unless Dominguez pitches like that every game), but it was clear that another move was needed.
Thankfully, there was another move. Taylor Ward is having a decent season in Baltimore, although his power is down from his time in LA. Slashing .245/.381/.344 with 7 home runs is solid, but not explosive. The Mariners needed a right handed outfielder and Ward does hit the mark. The Ward pickup feels like a microcosm of the season as a whole; a good plan on paper, but feels disappointing. Ward will be decent but not fantastic probably, and along with the other pickups will probably make the team better overall. But at the end of the deadline, this is not a World Series team. And maybe we all knew that, but seeing where everyone is at 3pm on Monday really set in that this is a baseball team that will probably go out in the Wild Card round.
I’m going to divert for three seconds to talk about Tarik Skubal. I hate it, I hate that the Dodgers paid peanuts for him, I hate that there was a clearly better offer from the Brewers that the Tigers didn’t take, and I hate that all the MLB media is like “wow the Dodgers have such an amazing farm system to get these good players!” and then River Ryan headlines a Tarik Skubal trade. Screw you, LA, I hope you get swept by the Padres in the NLDS for the next decade. I know that a salary cap doesn’t fix any of this, but it doesn’t mean these moves don’t infuriate me. Doesn’t anyone else want to win?
The Mariners have had a good run at the trade deadline these past few years, consistently upgrading while not getting rid of any meaningful good prospects. But it feels like in a season with so much frustration, maybe a bigger swing was needed. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, but for now I’m still waiting on Taylor Ward’s first Mariners hit. I’ll wait.
Go M’s,
Henry “The New Spider-Man Movie Was Pretty Good Actually” Neiman