The Seattle Mariners will enter this weekend's series in Washington against the Nationals still utilizing their six-man rotation. After running with a "piggyback" three times through, the M's will take the six-man approach at least twice.

Bryce Miller will get the ball on Friday while Luis Castillo pitches Saturday and Emerson Hancock on Sunday.

Understandably, a lot has been made about the M's surplus of starting pitching, and a lot of questions have been asked about how they should handle it moving forward.

I gave my answer on the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast, and I believe it's the best of all worlds.

I would send Luis Castillo to the bullpen, but if I'm the Mariners, I'm coming at this from a new angle.

See, three weeks ago, going to the bullpen would have been a demotion for a pitcher as accomplished as Castillo. It would have been a punishment, and I would have understood why he wouldn't have wanted to do it.

Things are different now. In the wake of Matt Brash's injury, which will keep him out a "while," the Mariners are in desperate need of another leverage reliever, and another right-handed one at that. Castillo, who has shown that he can be very effective in shorter outings, can be that guy. As we heard from Buster Olney of ESPN on Thursday, the possible trade options to fill Brash's spot are slim at the moment. 

Castillo's fastball is still up to 97-98 mph, he throws strikes and he has a three-pitch mix that can get hitters out, especially in small exposures. There's still work to be done to integrate him to the idea of pitching multiple times per week, but he has the ability, and the presence, to give me reason to want to try this.

The M's need to go to Castillo and tell him that this is not a demotion, this is an opportunity, a real opportunity, to pitch meaningful innings and help this team in a spot they need it.

Castillo is locked into a $24 million contract for 2027 regardless, so this decision doesn't affect his earnings next season, which is often a concern of pitchers.

Castillo has a vesting option for 2028 that is based on innings pitched in 2027, so it's understandable that he (and his reps) likely want him to remain a starting pitcher, but this decision now doesn't mean that Castillo can't be a starter again next year to chase that option. 

We have no idea what the Mariners will do in the offseason. Could they trade Castillo to a team that sees him as a full-time starter? Maybe. Could they trade another pitcher or two off, necessitating their need to start Castillo? Also maybe.

This decision doesn't have to be permanent for Castillo's career, and it doesn't have to impact his money.

It's an understandable question, and as we near the end of June, my answer is: Kade Anderson.

The top prospect has shown that he can be an answer in the rotation. If someone gets hurt and Castillo has already transitioned to a reliever, Anderson is the right guy to come up and take a rotation spot.

The Mariners brought up Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller straight from Double-A in 2023, so there's precedent for this.

You can listen to the latest edition of the 'Refuse to Lose Territory' podcast, featuring Tacoma Rainiers broadcaster Andy Helwig, here. You can also watch below.

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