40 in 40: Luis Castillo
Time comes for us all, but it comes for some less harshly than others
“That is no country for old men,” begins William Butler Yeats’s poem “Sailing to Byzantium,” a meditation on the process of aging, or that which is “begotten, born, and dies.” No Country for Old Men is also an apt way to describe baseball, a sport that’s gotten progressively younger over the past several decades, to the point where it feels like a Logan’s Run-style chip activates for players over 30, on the dreaded wrong side of the aging curve. Or, if you prefer the seminal 1995 film Showgirls as your cultural touchpoint, “there’s always someone younger and hungrier coming down the stairs after you.”
This is where our hero, Luis Castillo, finds himself; only 32, but already surrendering his Opening Day job to Logan Gilbert, the first of a fleet of young, talented starters thundering down the stairs behind him in Seattle. Sailing to Byzantium in search of a singing-master of the soul not being an option at this stage, Castillo has been required to cheerfully hand over his job as the Opening Day starter and accept a slightly diminished role in the Mariners’ rotation—something he has, in fact, done cheerfully, even urging a shocked Gilbert to “say something!” when manager Dan Wilson informed the two that the mantle had been passed.
In a capitalism-driven culture informed by a scarcity-based mindset, where every accomplishment means squeezing someone else out, Castillo’s generosity of spirit stands out as a rebuke to those who would believe that every piece of the pie granted to someone else means less pie for themselves. As much as Castillo wanted to be the Opening Day starter—something he sets out to do every season, along with making an All-Star Game and winning a Cy Young—he was able to recognize Gilbert’s accomplishment in a way that didn’t diminish him or his achievements, but rather enhance them.
The process of aging is a traumatic one for many people, although you can choose how you stand in relation to the relentless march of time. Yeats’s poem is full of panic about getting older; he uses the word “tattered” twice, describing the aging body as “a tattered coat upon a stick” and fleeing to Byzantium in order to escape a heart “sick with desire/and fastened to a dying animal.” Castillo has chosen to cheerlead for the player who comes behind him, while continuing to produce at his reliable level, the steady heartbeat of the youth-fueled Mariners rotation. He’s not getting pushed down the stairs; he’s widening them.
Projections:
FGDC: 181.0 IP, 2.8 fWAR, 3.56/3.71 ERA/FIP
PECOTA: 184.7 IP, 2.8 WARP, 3.88/4.08 ERA/DRA
Overs/Unders:
Zach: Under
Castillo keeps continuing to fade his sinker and change-up in favor of his four-seamer. I understand why, as it’s become the more effective pitch for him overall. But there are costs–namely in the quality of contact when guys do connect. T-Mobile is a more forgiving park for that profile than his old home in Cincinnati. But it’s a tightrope, and if his strikeouts can’t keep up, he’ll be in trouble.
Isabelle: Over
Buoyed by a powerful second half in Camden Yards.
Eric: Under
Isabelle with a DAGGER. As much as I love La Piedra and everything he did to boost the 2022 Mariners into a playoff run, I fear his arm is very sadly in its permanent decline phase. I hope he proves me wrong.