'I’d do it again in a minute.' Mariners president Jerry Dipoto on Luis Castillo trade

LAS VEGAS – The blockbuster Luis Castillo trade in late July already changed for the fortunes for one organization and the Cincinnati Reds hope it’ll be two a few years down the line.

Jerry Dipoto, the president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners, said he was asked by a rival executive Tuesday whether he knew Castillo would sign a long-term extension with his organization prior to the trade.

The Mariners paid a heavy price in prospects for the top pitcher available at last summer’s trade deadline. Shortstops Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo are consensus top-100 prospects. Levi Stoudt will compete for a spot in the Reds’ rotation next spring and high strikeout reliever Andrew Moore was included in the deal.

Castillo, however, was everything the Mariners hoped. He helped them end a 21-year playoff drought and starred during the postseason. The Mariners signed Castillo to a five-year, $108 million extension, which could grow to six years and $133 million based on a vesting option.

“We did pay a premium to get him,” Dipoto said, “and I’d do it again in a minute, especially if I knew he was going to sign and stay.”

Castillo had a 4-2 record and a 3.17 ERA in 11 starts with the Mariners this year. He was Seattle’s Game 1 starter in the Wild Card Series, and he was magnificent in the postseason, permitting three runs in 14 1/3 innings (1.88 ERA) in road games against the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.

Now the Mariners imagine him headlining their rotation for the next several years, alongside Robbie Ray and emerging young stars George Kirby and Logan Gilbert.

“We didn’t know if he would sign long-term, fortunately for us, he came at the right time for the Mariners because it was a pretty fun time to be where we were,” Dipoto said. “I look back on that deal and I hope it’s an organization changer. We have some organization-changing, or shaping, young players. What Castillo did, the day he walked into the clubhouse or even moreover the day we acquired Luis, the other 25 guys knew it was on. ‘All right, we’ve got the guy that goes out and matches up with Justin Verlander. We’ve got the guy you can ride in a short series.’”

Two of the Reds’ biggest trades in the last calendar year were with the Mariners. Their six-player blockbuster deal during March, which sent Eugenio Suárez and Jesse Winker to Seattle, had mixed results.

The Reds received two pitching prospects, Brandon Williamson and Connor Phillips, and two Major Leaguers, outfielder Jake Fraley and Justin Dunn. Williamson, a 6-foot-6 lefty, was a top-100 prospect, but took a step backward with his command while finishing the year in Triple-A. Phillips, a 21-year-old righty who spent half the year in Double-A, was the player to be named later and two scouts told The Enquirer last month he was their pick for best pitcher in the farm system.

Suárez was coming off poor 2020 and 2021 seasons, nearly relegated to a bench role in his last year with the Reds for Mike Moustakas, but he rebounded in Seattle with 31 homers, 24 doubles and 87 RBI in 150 games while batting .236. His defense at third base improved too.

“When I think of Geno, he was kind of transformational player for us,” Dipoto said. “Not because he hit homers, he’s just an unbelievable guy. He was awesome in our clubhouse, great with our young players. He knew the right thing to say in the right situation to the people who were around him. He’s the guy that has never had a bad moment it seems, he’s just always in a happy place.”

Suárez played well in the postseason, hitting .350 with two doubles and a homer in five games. He’s owed $24 million over the next two years with a $15 million club option for the 2025 season.

How did the Mariners help him bounce back this year?

“He was the same guy in Cincinnati if not for a weird shoulder injury from diving in a pool and maybe a move to shortstop that didn’t suit him,” Dipoto said. “What he did last year is on par with what he’s always done in his career.”

Trading Suárez and Winker was part of the payroll cuts Reds ownership mandated to the front office, but Winker was largely viewed as the centerpiece of the deal.

“I’ll say it, I’ve said it to (Suárez), he’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever had,” Dipoto said. “He’s so much fun to be around. He had an awesome year, but it’s weird how things work out because when we acquired Geno, we thought there is no reason he shouldn’t rebound to what he’s always done in his career. Then to watch it happen and see the way he impacted our team in all those other ways was magical.”

Winker, an All-Star starter in 2021, had the worst year of his career in Seattle. He had an .888 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) across five seasons with the Reds and he posted a .688 OPS with the Mariners.

The Seattle Times reported Winker wasn’t well-liked in the clubhouse and didn’t prepare for games in the same way as his teammates.

“It was a tough transition for him, much tougher than it was for Geno,” Dipoto said. “I know in my lifetime, having been traded twice, it’s not easy when you grow up in an organization, play in one place and that’s where you got comfortable. You know your hitting coaches, you know your ballpark, you know your people and then it changes on you. It seemed to affect Wink more than it affects a lot of guys.”

Unlike Suárez and Castillo, it was the first time Winker was traded in his career. He went from a hitter-friendly ballpark to a pitcher-friendly park, which may have led to some pressing at the plate to provide more power, though he still ranked third in the American League in walks.

There will be offseason rumors about Winker’s availability in trades. Winker was considered a borderline candidate to make Seattle’s playoff roster before his season ended with knee and neck surgeries.

Dipoto says the Mariners were forced to play Winker in left field more often than they wanted because of injuries – “Wink showed up and played,” Dipoto said. If Winker remains in the organization, he’ll spend much more time as Seattle’s designated hitter.

“It was a rough year for him,” Dipoto said. “Just like we talked about Geno, he’s a guy that you look at for next year and say there is no reason why he shouldn’t bounce back and hit his averages. He’s 28 years old and has an irrefutably excellent track record as a Major League hitter. I don’t know why that shouldn’t be the case moving forward.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Seattle Mariners president Jerry Dipoto on Luis Castillo trade