Mariners Moose Tracks, 9/28/22: Luis Castillo, Aaron Judge, and Bo Bichette

Good morning everyone and happy Wednesday! Here’s what’s happening in baseball.

In Mariners news...

• With the Mariners playoff drought seemingly coming to a close, Tyler Kepner at The New York Times wrote about the longest active playoff drought in the Big Four American professional sports.
• Better yet: remember the best moments of the M’s drought in video format!

• Ginny Searle at Baseball Prospectus gave their take on the Mariners’ extension of Luis Castillo’s contract. ($)
• The Mariners team blog previewed the team’s homestand and figured out the potential scenarios for the M’s to clinch the playoffs.

Around the league...

• Kiley McDaniel at ESPN spoke to several baseball insiders to figure out just what kind of contract Aaron Judge is in for this coming offseason.
• Reports indicate that Tony La Russa will not to back to manage the club in 2023 — or ever, you’d have to image — due to ongoing health complications.
• The Oneil Cruz Statcast numbers are about as chaotic as you’d expect them to be.

• Hello, Andrés Muñoz!

• The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is opening a special exhibit highlighting the connections between African American baseball history to Latin cultures.
• Bo Bichette was having a tough season offensively, but a swing change has turned things around for him at just the right time. Esteban Rivera at Fangraphs has the analysis.