Could the Padres and Mariners swap MLB All-Stars?
Aug 23, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners starter Luis Castillo (58) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports
The Padres and Mariners seem like a match for a trade, given each team’s needs. Could they swing a big trade involving two MLB All-Stars?
The San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners’ “rivalry” is playfully referred to as the “Vedder Cup.” That’s in reference to  Pearl Jam’s lead man, Eddie Vedder, who grew up in San Diego but formed the band while in the Seattle area (naturally, Vedder himself is a Cubs fan).
The two franchises also share the Peoria Sports Complex as their main Spring Training facility.
Could they link up for a big trade involving two former All-Stars?
The Padres need starting pitching. Joe Musgrove will miss the 2025 season following Tommy John surgery. That leaves Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Yu Darvish for the top three spots, with mostly unknowns, unproven, or fringe roster players to make up the rest of the starting pitcher crop.
Starting pitching is also coming at a premium price this offseason. Middle-tier starters like Yusei Kikuchi, Luis Severino, Nathan Eovaldi, and Nick Martinez got free-agent deals worth more than $20 million this offseason. For reference, that is more than what the Padres are paying Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove.
Given the premium being put on starting pitchers, it might behoove the Padres to acquire another starter via trade.
The Mariners appear to be an ideal trading partner, and not just because they share a Spring Training complex and the hometown of a music legend.
First, they have a surplus of starting pitching. They boast one of the deepest starting rotations in the league. Plus, they are desperate for infielders. Gone are Josh Rojas, Justin Turner, and Jorge Polanco, who all contributed for the Mariners in the infield. As of right now, per FanGraphs, the Mariners have players like Ryan Bliss (33 career MLB games) and Dylan Moore (.201 average in 2024) slated as starters in their lineup along the infield.
Luis Castillo is one of the more well-respected starting pitchers in baseball. Before arriving in Seattle, he was the ace of the Cincinnati Reds between 2019 and 2022. Overall, he has three All-Star selections, with his most recent coming in 2023 for the Mariners.
Since arriving in Seattle, he hasn’t been the same ace type he was with the Reds, although he is still respectable. From the start of 2023 onward, he has made 63 starts with a solid 3.48 ERA and 110 ERA+. Since 2021, Castillo has averaged 178 innings pitched. He has been reliable and above average for the majority of his career.
Contract-wise, Castillo is underpaid relative to the deals other pitchers not as good as him are getting this offseason. He is under team control for the next three years at just over $24 million per season. There is a vested option for 2028 for $25 million. The Padres would be getting a solid, reliable starter for at least the next three years at an affordable price relative to the current market. Castillo would slide in perfectly somewhere in the mix of Cease, King, and Darvish.
If they added Castillo, the Padres would have one of the more formidable top four of any starting rotation in baseball.
On the flip side, the Mariners, as mentioned, are desperate for infielders.
Jake Cronenworth is the ideal infielder that any major league club would like. He has major league experience at all four infielder spots. With the Padres, he has mostly split time between first base and second base. In 2022, he led the entire league in games played at second base while also leading in fielding percentage. He has a positive Defensive Runs Saved metric at second base and first base. The Padres have a surplus of infielders and need to add a starting pitcher.
The Michigan alum was named an All-Star in both 2021 and 2022. He was moved to first base full-time in 2023, and his offense suffered (.229 average, .689 OPS, 89 OPS+). This past season, he split time more around the infield, and that seemed to galvanize his offense. At times, he looked much more like his pre-2023 self. In 155 games in 2024, he hit 17 homers, with 83 RBI, with a .714 OPS. Cronenworth improved his approach at the plate, ranking in the 85th percentile for chase rate and 89th percentile in whiff rate. He finished second on the Padres in walks.
Cronenworth is used to playing in a more spacious, pitcher-friendly park at Petco Park. The possible transition to T-Mobile Park in Seattle would not be as jarring. The lefty would instantly give the Mariners’ infield more credibility. Plus, the Padres trading away Cronenworth and his contract would allow them to shoulder the contract they would be inheriting with Castillo. Cronenworth is due roughly $12.2 million per year over the next six seasons ($11.285 million in 2025 and then $12.285 million from 2026 through 2030).
Of course, Cronenworth would be tough to watch leave in San Diego. He will be most remembered for coming through with perhaps the biggest hit in Padres history since Steve Garvey’s homer in the 1984 NLCS. That being, his two-run single to give the Padres the lead in Game 4 of the 2022 NLDS against the Dodgers, essentially winning the playoff series.
With the starting pitching market being so lucrative, the Mariners would likely ask for another piece instead of this being a straight swap. While they still would have admirable pitching depth even if they dealt Castillo, if the Padres offered another MLB-ready arm, it would sweeten the deal for Seattle.
Jhony Brito was an intriguing arm the Padres received in part of the Juan Soto megadeal.
He pitched 43 innings for the big league club in 2024, with a 4.12 ERA and perfectly average 100 ERA+. He is still just 26 years old with five more years of club control. The Padres could include Brito as a way to bolster the back end of the pitching depth in Seattle. The Mariners could develop Brito into a starter if they wish. He made 13 starts for the Yankees in 2023. If he doesn’t move the needle enough, perhaps the Padres could throw in a “lotto ticket” type of prospect in right-hander David Morgan.
Both the Mariners and Padres are trying to get better this season without completely breaking the bank. The Mariners would see a net of roughly $12 to $13 million come off the books in this deal. That, while also ridding themselves of Cronenworth’s lengthy contract and acquiring a quality starting pitcher for the next three seasons at least. In a way, Castillo would only cost the Padres $12 to $13 million more than they have right now on the payroll in this deal.
The deal, in review:
Mariners get:
INF Jake Cronenworth
RHP Jhony Brito
RHP David Morgan (#29 SD prospect)
(Plus a net of $12-13 million off of the 2025 payroll)
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.