Morosi: Why piggyback is still Mariners’ best option for rotation

The Seattle Mariners’ first piggyback start with Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo went as well as the team could have hoped for through eight innings.

But in the ninth inning, it all unraveled in painful fashion.

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After Castillo threw two scoreless frames in relief, the M’s elected to send the right-hander back to the mound in a one-run game with the heart of the White Sox order coming up. He allowed the first two batters on via a walk and hit by pitch, and both eventually came around to score after closer Andrés Muñoz came on with one out in the inning, leading to a 2-1 loss.

The inning also saw the M’s forget the rules of making a pitching change, as they attempted to make back-to-back mound visits and pull Castillo after the first two batters.

The Mariners are going to use Miller and Castillo in a piggyback role again during the next turn through the rotation. MLB Network insider Jon Morosi explained to Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Thursday why he believes it’s still their best option for the time being.

“I’m going to give a conditional I’m OK with it, as long as it’s done in a particular way. And the way that it happened, at least at the end, the other day was not ideal,” Morosi said.

The big issue Morosi had with the Mariners’ first go at the piggyback start was how they handled the ninth inning of a one-run game.

“Muñoz was put in a tough spot. He’s entering an inning with traffic on the bases. It’s just not ideal for him,” Morosi said. “The way that I would say it is, give Muñoz a chance. If he’s available in that game, then don’t (go), ‘Hey, maybe he’s in. Maybe he’s out.’ If he’s available, pitch him. If he’s available, get him in there. Don’t get him hot (in the bullpen) and maybe he’s in, maybe he’s not. He should pitch.”

Morosi also believes the way the first piggyback start transpired at the end wasn’t good for Castillo as he navigates getting used to a new role.

“Get him out of there before what is an encouraging outing turns into something sour, which is exactly what happened,” Morosi said. “That was one of those games in the year where it has a chance to be not just a loss for that day, but a loss for the entire concept, because it just kind of left everyone feeling unfulfilled with the way that it ended. That’s the kind of game where, if Muñoz is ready, if he’s available, you got a lead, pitch him – just get him in the game – then that way Castillo leaves it relatively early. It was almost like an extended bullpen at that point. He’s feeling good, not maybe the role that he wanted, but at least he helped his team win a game.

“Instead, you gotta answer all these questions. It wasn’t good for Andrés, either. It was just kind of a disaster.”

With that said, Morosi still believes using Castillo in a piggyback role is better than going to a six-man rotation.

“I’m good with it in large part because I do believe that the other Mariners starters – and obviously Miller is still building up his pitch count (after returning from an oblique injury) – but the other Mariner starters are really creatures of habit,” Morosi said. “I don’t want to be the guy that has to tell George Kirby, ‘Hey, you have to take an extra day here. We gotta swing you around to this start.’ Granted, I think getting a little extra time for (Bryan) Woo is still not a bad idea. I’m still in the back of my mind thinking you want to help him be sure that he’s (going) with a full head of steam towards the end of the season, which obviously wasn’t the case a year ago. So I’d be a little bit careful there.”

Woo, who was the Mariners’ best pitcher a season ago, suffered a right pectoral muscle strain on Sept. 19 last year and didn’t return to the mound until Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. He also had three separate stints on the injured list across the 2023 and ’24 seasons.

Morosi said he’d be more open to the idea of a six-man rotation if Castillo and Miller looked like more equal options, but he sees Castillo as the clear No. 6 at this point.

“I just don’t see his production at this point in time meriting a full-time spot in the rotation. He hasn’t pitched well enough, in my opinion, to earn that,” Morosi said. “Granted that he’s had a great career and a big contract, I understand all those things, but this is a team that if things all line up well, they’ve got a chance to win the World Series this year. I mean, they have a World Series-caliber roster. So, you got to go with the guys that are performing and, right now, Castillo’s not one of the best five.”

Morosi added he’d like to see Castillo get a chance to work his way into higher-leverage spots and that using him as piggyback with other starters, like Woo, could be a helpful option.

“I think when packaged well and when carried out well and executed well, which wasn’t the case obviously in relief appearance No. 1 for Luis, I just think that it has a chance to work if you give it time and if you execute it much better than they did the first time around,” Morosi said.

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Wyman and Bob weekdays form 2-7 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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