Seattle Mariners expected to start a Luis Castillo in back-to-back games

Of the many oddities that happen throughout a baseball season, the Seattle Mariners may have stumbled upon a new one just a week into the 2025 campaign.

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The Mariners are expected promote right-hander Luis F. Castillo from Triple-A Tacoma to make a spot start Friday against the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Sports’ Mariners insider Shannon Drayer reported Thursday afternoon.

That means Seattle would have a player named Luis Castillo make the start in consecutive games. Luis M. Castillo (or “La Piedra”) picked up the win on the mound in Wednesday’s series finale against the Detroit Tigers.

Not official yet, but the Mariners are expected to start Luis F Castillo against the Giants tomorrow. For those of you keeping track at home, that would mean back-to-back Luis Castillo starts. @alexmayer34 approves of this move.

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) April 3, 2025

The report comes after the M’s made a trio of moves Thursday that left an open spot on their 26-man roster. They reinstated third baseman Jorge Polanco off the paternity list and optioned infielder Leo Rivas and left-handed pitcher Jhonathan Díaz to Triple-A Tacoma.

Seattle’s 40-man roster is currently full, so it will need to clear a spot for Luis F. Castillo to join the big league club.

The 30 year old allowed two hits and struck out four batters over 3 2/3 innings while making all three of his career major league appearances out of the Tigers’ bullpen in 2022. He spent the past two seasons playing professionally in Japan. The right-hander allowed one run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts in his season debut with Tacoma on Sunday.

Polanco missed two games while on the paternity list. He’s been the Mariners’ hottest hitter early on, batting .400 with one home run and four RBIs in 15 at-bats.

Rivas and Díaz are heading back to Tacoma after being called up Tuesday. Rivas, who was promoted to replace Polanco, did not appear in a game. Díaz was added for bullpen help after starter Emerson Hancock lasted two-thirds on Monday night. The left-hander pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief in Tuesday’s loss to Detroit.

Hancock began the year as Seattle’s fifth starter, replacing George Kirby, who is recovering from shoulder inflammation. His demotion opened a spot in the Mariners’ rotation.