Seattle Mariners fans react to news that Luis Castillo won't be participating in the World Baseball Classic: "BOO let them play", "Man this sucks"

Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo won't be participating in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic. He'll report to camp with the Mariners while the WBC goes down. The WBC is scheduled to run from March 8-21.

Losing Castillo is definitely a blow for the Dominican Republic team. In 2022, Castillo was voted to his second All-Star game, compiling an 8-6 record with a 2.99 ERA.

Seattle's general manager, Jerry Dipoto, said that the decision was mutual. It seems as if Castillo has a higher priority in the 2023 MLB season than participating in this year's World Baseball Classic.

Seattle Mariners fans aren't happy with the decision. They wanted to see Castillo represent his home country in one of the most exciting baseball tournaments around.

"BOOOO let them play," one fan tweeted.

"I love the WBC and guys have every right to make their own decisions but man this sucks," another fan tweeted.

This isn't the first time a star player like Luis Castillo has turned down the WBC, and it won't be the last. With the tournament being held in March, a lot of MLB front offices are wary of letting their guys compete. They're fearful that their players could get hurt and miss the season.

Fans are calling for the league to do the same thing for Team USA, but they have. Team USA is rolling out Kyle Freeland as one of the pitchers in its starting rotation. If the MLB teams had no say, Team USA's starting rotation would be Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Gerrit Cole.

It's difficult to get all the stars in baseball to commit to the event. The World Baseball Classic is so close to spring training, but that's the only time they can hold the tournament.

The Seattle Mariners don't want Luis Castillo to get injured playing in the World Baseball Classic

Seattle Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo

Acquiring Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline last season was huge for Seattle. It added another ace-type pitcher to its rotation. He immediately made an impact on the team.

Luis Castillo shut down the Toronto Blue Jays in the postseason. He went 7.1 innings, giving up zero runs and striking out five along the way.

Seattle is looking for more of the same from Castillo this season. If so, the Mariners could be very competitive in 2023.