Trade Target: Luis Castillo

As the trade deadline is vastly approaching, teams striving to make the postseason will be hungry to buy, and teams heading towards mediocrity or a rebuild will be looking to sell. With that in mind, one player that should be a hot commodity is starting pitcher Luis Castillo. Castillo has been fantastic this season pitching to a 2.77 ERA, 3.24 xERA, 3.03 FIP, 3.44 xFIP, and 3.61 SIERA in 78.0 innings, and has been great since making his Major League debut in 2017. The Reds are currently 35-57 entering a rebuilding phase while Castillo has one more year of arbitration next season and then is set to enter free agency after the 2023 season. Based on their timeline, there is no better time for them to sell high on Castillo than now. With all of this in mind, here are four teams that should be interested in Castillo along with mock trades.

New York Yankees

The Yankees have been the best team in Major League Baseball this season but with Aaron Judge set to hit free agency following the season and going ringless for over a decade, the Yankees will likely go all in at the trade deadline in pursuit of winning their 28th World Series. If the Yankees were to acquire Castillo, their already dominant starting rotation (their 3.20 ERA is the third best ERA in MLB) becomes even better. Assuming they do acquire Castillo, the Yankees would have one of the best potential October rotations with a ton of depth:

Mock trade:

Yankees acquire: Luis Castillo

Reds acquire: Oswald Peraza, Everson Periera, T.J. Sikkema, JP Sears

Package details:

• Oswald Peraza (SS) (2nd best prospect in the system via MLB.com and FanGraphs, 38th overall prospect via MLB.com, 50th overall prospect via FanGraphs, 50 FV)
• Everson Periera (OF) (10th best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 7th best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 45+ FV)
• T.J. Sikkema (LHP) (19th best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 16th best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 40+ FV)
• JP Sears (LHP) (23rd best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 25th best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 40 FV, 2.05 ERA/3.16 FIP/4.32 xFIP in 22.0 MLB innings this season)

Minnesota Twins

Backed by their brilliant offense, the Minnesota Twins have a narrow lead in the AL Central. While the Twins have no problem putting up runs, their pitching staff is alright at best. Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray are good pitchers, but neither should an “ace” on a team that is capable of making a deep run in October. By adding Castillio the Twins’ rotation becomes much scarier to face by giving them a true ace. Here’s how the Twins rotation could lineup in October:

Mock trade:

Twins acquire: Luis Castillo

Reds acquire: Jose Miranda, Jordan Balazovic, Spencer Steer

Package details:

• Jose Miranda (1B/3B) (3rd best prospect in the system via MLB.com and Fangraphs entering 2022, 93rd overall prospect entering 2022 by MLB.com, 95th overall prospect entering 2022 by FanGraphs, 50 FV, .251/.293/.444 (108 wRC+) in 57 MLB games this season)
• Jordan Balazovic (RHP) (3rd best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 7th best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 45 FV)
• Spencer Steer (2B/3B) ( (7th best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 6th best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 45 FV)
• Misael Urbina (OF) (9th best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 16th best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 40+ FV)

Seattle Mariners

After an amazing run last year that left the team just short of the postseason, the expectation was (and still is) that the Mariners’ 20 year postseason drought would finally come to an end in 2022. Despite an up and down start to the season, the Mariners were on an absolute heater prior to the All Star break winning their last 14 games. The Mariners’ rotation definitely has some solid pieces in Robbie Ray, Logan Gilbert, and George Kirby, but adding a pitcher of Luis Castillo’s caliber would put their rotation over the top and in a great position to make some noise in October. If the M’s do acquire Castillo, here’s how they could stack up in October:

Mock trade

Mariners acquire: Luis Castillo

Reds acquire: Jarred Kelenic, Matt Brash, Lazaro Montes

Package details:

• Jarred Kelenic (OF) (best prospect in the system entering 2021 via MLB.com and Fangraphs, 4th best overall prospect via MLB.com entering 2021, 3rd best overall prospect via FanGraphs entering 2021, 60 FV, .173/.256/.338 (68 wRC+) in 123 MLB games)
• Matt Brash (RHP) (3rd best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 2nd best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 91st overall prospect via MLB.com, 53rd best overall prospect via FanGraphs, 50 FV, 6.66 ERA/5.33 FIP/4.70 xFIP in 24.1 MLB innings this season)
• Lazaro Montes (OF) (12th best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 6th best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 40+ FV)

Los Angeles Dodgers

Just as they have for the last decade, the Los Angeles Dodgers have dominated in 2022. Fresh off a 106 win season, but falling short of making the World Series in 2021, the Dodgers are once again in a great position to contend in October. One of the team’s biggest downfalls in the NLCS last season was their lack of starters going deep into games and heavy bullpen usage as two bullpen games/openers were used and no starting pitcher pitched more than five innings in a game. If the Dodgers want to ensure this doesn’t repeat in 2022, acquiring Castillo would give them a loaded rotation with many great depth options.

Mock trade:

Dodgers acquire: Luis Castillo

Reds acquire: Bobby Miller (RHP), Jose Ramos (OF), Mitch White (RHP), Wilman Diaz (SS)

• Bobby Miller (RHP) (2nd best prospect in the system via MLB.com and FanGraphs, 26th overall prospect via MLB.com, 47th overall prospect via FanGraphs, 50 FV)
• Jose Ramos (OF) (14th best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 7th best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 45+ FV)
• Mitch White (RHP) (3.61 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 4.20 xFIP in 99.2 MLB innings since 2020, 27  years old, controlled through 2027)
• Wilman Diaz (SS) (10th best prospect in the system via MLB.com, 20th best prospect in the system via FanGraphs, 40+ FV)

Justin Girshon

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I am a freshman studying broadcast and digital journalism at the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications and I'm from New York City. @mlbzone_ on Instagram

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