PEORIA, Ariz. — While any drama about last year’s opening day starter seemed a bit manufactured, this year there’s no reason to even ask which Mariners pitcher will jog to the T-Mobile Park mound on March 30 to open the 2023 season.
Luis Castillo made that decision easy for the Mariners and manager Scott Servais over the course of the final few months of the 2022 season and two incredible outings in the team’s first postseason appearance in two decades.
“It opened my eyes a lot,” Servais said. “We knew we were getting a quality pitcher and a really good person. I just think he elevated his game big time. I think from the time we had him, just on the average, I think he threw maybe a mile and a half or two miles per hour harder. His stuff got better.
“We knew he was competitive and all of our reports say this guy likes the big moments. But he hadn’t been in a lot of them. From the first time he put our uniform in Yankee Stadium to the end, he was phenomenal. Just awesome.”
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In 11 regular-season starts with Seattle, Castillo posted a 4-2 record with a 3.17 ERA. In 65 1/3 innings pitched, he struck out 77 batters with 17 walks. After beating the Yankees in New York in his first start with the Mariners, he faced them again his next start, which came at T-Mobile Park. Castillo was brilliant, tossing eight scoreless innings, allowing just three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts. The Mariners eventually won the game 1-0 in the 13th inning.
In the postseason, Castillo tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings vs. the Blue Jays, allowing one hit with five strikeouts. He came back to pitch seven innings and allowing three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts against the Astros.
“It was an unforgettable experience,” Castillo said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “It was a long time before this team had been in the playoffs. What stood out to me most was the work that everybody put in, whether it’s the players, the coaches, we all put in that work to get as far as we did.”
Besides his No. 1-level stuff, the Mariners were willing to give up four prospects, including talented shortstops Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo, in a trade with the Reds because Castillo was under club control through this season. However, the trade got even better for Seattle when he agreed to a five-year, $105 million extension in late September.
“You know that this is a business and one day you can be here and then you can be somewhere else in a short time,” Castillo said through interpreter Freddy Llanos. “But when I got here, I just felt very comfortable. I felt comfortable even with all the talent that we had here. I knew that I wanted to stay.”
The idea of having a full season’s worth of starts from Castillo and what it could mean with a quality team supporting him has some people thinking about him starting the All-Star Game at T-Mobile, winning a Cy Young Award and carrying the Mariners to the World Series.
“I’m here full season and I’m going to be prepared to see if we can take the team even farther,” he said.
Pitching probables
The Mariners have set up their pitching plans for the first handful of Cactus League games this spring.
Left-hander Robbie Ray will start Friday’s opener at Peoria Stadium against the Padres. Also scheduled to pitch in that game are right-handers Diego Castillo, Penn Murfee, Trevor Gott, Taylor Williams and Riley O’Brien.
Saturday vs. the Angels: Lefty Marco Gonzales will start with right-hander Matt Brash also scheduled to pitch.
Sunday at the Royals: Right-hander Easton McGee will start.
Monday at the White Sox: Right-hander Chris Flexen gets the start with right-handers Isaiah Campbell and Juan Then — two young prospects — also scheduled to appear.
Tuesday vs. the Guardians: Right-hander Luis Castillo will make his first start of the spring and right-hander Bryce Miller, the organization’s top pitching prospect, scheduled to pitch.
Wednesday at the Cubs: Ray makes his second start of the spring with right-handed pitching prospects Bryan Woo and Emerson Hancock also scheduled to pitch.
Also
Will two Wongs make everything right? The Mariners will soon find out. The team announced Tuesday morning that Kean Wong, the younger brother of second baseman Kolten Wong, had officially signed a minor league contract with an invitation to MLB spring training.
Kean Wong was actually in uniform and working out with the team on Monday. But he had to pass his team physical before the team could make the signing official.
A 27-year-old infielder, Kean Wong spent last season playing for Triple-A Salt Lake City — the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate — posting a .262/.342/.332 slash line with 18 doubles, four triples, three homers, 53 RBI, 70 runs scored, 41 stolen bases, 61 walks and 125 strikeouts in 128 games.
He made his MLB debut with the Angels in 2021, playing in 32 games, posting a .167/.194/.233 slash line. He’s a former fourth-round pick in the 2013 draft by the Rays.
He is expected to play in Triple-A Tacoma’s infield to start the 2023 season.
Seattle acquired Kolten Wong from the Brewers this offseason to be their starting second baseman, sending outfielder Jesse Winker and utility player Abraham Toro in return.