The Seattle Mariners announce a very interesting move before the end of the series on Sunday

In a surprising move, the Seattle Mariners They have announced that starting pitcher Luis Castillo will receive the ball in Sunday’s series finale against the Minnesota Twins at T-Mobile Park.

Daniel Kramer of MLB.com had the information on “X”:

Castillo is moving up in the rotation to take the place of the injured Bryan Woo, who should have pitched. He has been placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain and there is no immediate date for his return.

This move is surprising for a few different reasons, so let’s break it down:

1) The team has already created a spot on the roster for Jhonathan Díaz. Diaz clearly seemed like the guy poised to take Woo’s spot in the rotation, so why waste a roster spot on him if he’s not going to pitch? The M’s could have kept another reliever for this weekend series if they hadn’t used Diaz. Will Diaz start the game on Tuesday (after the off day) or will he be used as a reliever on Sunday if needed? Since the M’s have another off day on Monday, will they skip Woo’s spot in the rotation entirely?

2) Castillo hasn’t pitched so well lately. Castillo was roughed up by both Cleveland and Tampa Bay in his last two starts, so moving him up a few days is certainly questionable. Castillo is pitching on a full four days’ rest, so it’s not an absurd timeline, but the veteran looks like he could use more rest, not less. He’s much better at home, though (2.96 ERA), so perhaps the M’s think he can channel that success.

3) Perhaps the reason this move was made is because of the Twins’ lineup. Minnesota has a very right-handed lineup, with Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, Carlos Correa and Ryan Jeffers. Perhaps Servais thought the right-hander would be a better matchup than Diaz.

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