The Mariners have upgraded to the right side of the infield as they increased last week Josh NaylorDaniel Kramer of MLB.com reported that they are increasingly focused on twins as they continue to seek help in another corner and in the bullpen. Seattle Willi Castro In the past offseason and again with Minnesota about the possibility of Castro swap.
Castro, 28 Eugenio Suárez. The Castro of the switch is versatile enough to handle any of the second base, shortstop, or three outfield spots – although he is best used as an emergency option for the shortest time or in the center. He mainly played second base and outfield corners in twin games this season, but had 74 innings in third base (532 innings in his career) and 26 innings (1213 innings career innings).
The versatile Castro was in the last season under club control and earned 6.4mm. He hit .252/.343/.418 with 10 home runs, 15 doubles, a pair of 3-pointers and nine steals (12 attempts). It was Castro's third straight production season because he wasn't excited by the Tigers and signed a minor league contract in Minnesota. Over two years in the twins, he was cut while playing on diamonds.251/.336/.401.
Castro is solid enough on the plate that even without a more noteworthy acquisition in the hot corner, he himself still makes a significant improvement in the internal choice. Rookie Ben Williamson In Seattle, I spent most of the season playing third base. He made a sharp turn, but held the 289-dished .256/.293/.315 hitting the line. Hope is Jorge Polanco He was able to play for M's third base after re-signing in the past offseason, but after having knee surgery after campaigning in 2024 and having side/slant problems in much of the season, he was limited to DH work for much of the season.
In addition to demand in the infield, sailors are helping to provide a trade market for high leverage relief. Kramer points out fierce right Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax The fit on paper and the type of weapon Seattle has been looking for stand out. Both are in the first arbitration season and have been under control in 2027. Duran earns 4.125mm this season. JAX's salary is $2.365mm.
Although Duran is Minnesota's status and has his position as one of the toughest fastballs in Major League Baseball (MLB), he is closer, but both pitchers are seen as elite bullpen choices in the industry. Duran has a career of 2.47 ERA and a 30.6% strikeout rate, although this year's 25.7% (although still strong) is a career-lower. His four-pin meter averages 100.2 miles per hour and complements this bubble-burning product at 97.5 mph with a splitter/pend hybrid (“Splinker”).
Duran may be more famous, but Jax is arguably more attractive. In addition to the lower wages, he strikes out and walks are 36.9% and 6.7% respectively. His match average was .371, which helped to raise Jax's era to 3.91, but metrics like FIP (2.00) and Siera (1.94) ranked him as the match. Of the 651 professional pitchers (starters and reliefers) this year, Jax and Aroldis Chapman For the fourth best swing rate (19.8%). Josh Hard,,,,, Mason Miller and Fernando Cruz is the only pitcher with a higher score.
The Seattle Times Adam Jude wrote that while sailors do desire Duran and/or Jax and Castro, M's rarely could steal one of the top bullpen weapons in the same industry with Castro and the twins. ESPN's Jeff Passan reported last week that the twins were Duran or Jax respectively looking for multiple top 100 prospects. Jude heard the same sound. Plus, Castro, one of the most attractive rental participants on the market, will only raise the asking price further.
Jude suggests left-handed Danny Coulombe As a viable alternative in Minnesota bullpen. He threw 31 innings this year and recorded the original 1.16 ERA with a strikeout efficiency of 25.4% and a walking rate of 7.4%. The 35-year-old Southpaw signed a year-on-year deal with the twins (his second term at Minnesota) in the winter – a free agent at the end of the season.
Guess, sailors can also see it correctly Brock Stewart. The 33-year-old has made only $870,000 this season, and like Duran and Jax, it has been under control in 2027. He has been excellent since signing a minor league contract with the twins three years ago, but has missed a lot of time due to injuries. Stewart touted a 2.33 ERA with a strikeout rate of 31.7% and a 77 1/3 innings walking rate of 9.5%, dating back to the opening in 2023. Jason Adam Ranked 28th out of 373 major league pitchers in at least 30 innings this year.
The sailors can land pretty well on almost any commercial goal they aspire to, and that's just a matter of their willingness to be seen as one of the top farm systems at baseball. Seattle has the prospect of eight top 100 US baseball. Instead of a full rebuild, Minnesota intends to rebuild and recompetitively in 2026, so they may prefer closer to the major league prospects to fight for their top trade chips (although they did find the 19-year-old catching up with potential customers in yesterday's Chris Paddack trade).