M’s, Castillo agree on extension

Luis Castillo and the Seattle Mariners have agreed to terms on a contract extension, per reports. Jeff Passan says that the deal is five years, $108 million, with a sixth year vesting option that could make the whole deal worth $133 million.

Castillo, 29, is a righthanded starting pitcher who the Mariners acquired at the trade deadline from the Cincinnati Reds. Castillo, absent this extension, would have headed into his final year of arbitration eligibility for 2023, and then would have hit the free agent market after the 2023 season.

In terms of the buyout of the free agent years, my guess is that Castillo was probably looking at something like $12-13 million in arbitration. If that is the case, then Castillo’s age 31-34 free agent years would be bought out at around $24 million per year.

Castillo has accumulated 4 bWAR so far in 2022, and this is his third 4+ bWAR season in the majors.