Before the season began cincinnati turned its roster into a rummage sale. The team had made the expanded playoffs in 2020 and won 83 games in 2021. That level of winning, owner Bob Castellini decided, could not continue in 2022. The subsequent evacuation of veterans included Tucker Barnhart, Wade Miley, Sonny Gray, Jesse Wincker, Eugenio Suarez other Amir Garrett.
The flurry of trades cut costs. It also led to the scratching of heads. If the Reds were trading all these relatively affordable, useful players, why weren’t they shopping Luis Castilloperhaps the roster’s most valuable asset, in search of a prospect bonanza?
Part of the reason stemmed from Castillo’s health. Castillo, a 29-year-old right-hander, reported to spring training with a sore shoulder. The injury sidelined him until May. But it is unlikely to diminish his value in July. With another year left on his contract, Castillo figures to fetch the haul the Reds couldn’t quite find back in March.
He is the best pitcher on the trade block. Since 2019, Castillo has been worth 12.2 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, which ranks ninth among qualified starters. He has been an excellent regular-season pitcher on a team unable to put him on the playoff stage. That should change in the next few weeks.
With the trade deadline only a few weeks away, the bidding for the best players on the market should be intense. With that in mind, we canvassed our beat writers to see which teams will make the biggest upgrades. Who will land Luis Castillo?
The 2022 Yankees resemble Brian Cashman’s first Yankees team from 1998, which he called “fantastic” with “really no weaknesses.”
But that doesn’t mean he should take the trade deadline lightly.
đź“š @Ken_Rosenthalhttps://t.co/xIcdW8PlCw pic.twitter.com/8Batbpsp5R
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) July 11, 2022
Atlanta Braves
Castillo has drawn interest from the Braves in the past and could again. No, the Braves don’t have an urgent need for another solid starter, with their trio of Max Fried, Charlie Morton other Kyle Wright all humming along, topped by the emergence of hard-throwing, rookie strikeout machine Spencer Strider.
However, with Ian Anderson‘s ERA hovering around 5.00 and his walks rate still too high, and Strider only in his second per season and never having pitched 100 competitive innings in a season at any level, adding a frontline-caliber starter who’s controllable for another year has appeal for the Braves, particularly with Morton on a one-year deal.
Given the formidable pitching throughout the NL East, the Braves know they could be a sore elbow or shoulder away from needing another proven starter for the stretch drive. — David O’Brien
Boston Red Sox
A front-line starter with another year of team control? yes please Even with the Red Sox rotation being a relative strength up to this point — and with reinforcements coming soon off the injured list — it’s doubtful Chaim Bloom will ever think he has enough pitching, and Castillo is much more than back-end depth. Of course, his potential for real impact might be just the thing that drives him away from Boston. Other teams might feel they’re a No. 1 starter away from a championship. I’m not sure the Red Sox can say that, and so they’re probably not the team willing to pay the highest price. — Chad Jennings
Los Angeles Dodgers
Walker Buehler‘s status is uncertain. dustin may‘s rehab from Tommy John surgery is still ongoing. And while Tony Gonsolin has created a Cy Young Award candidacy for himself with his brilliant first half, the Dodgers could use another top-end arm to cement alongside Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw other Julio UrĂas. Castillo might offer that upside more than any starter available on the market. — Fabian Ardaya
Minnesota Twins
The Twins will pursue both Castillo and Frankie Montas before the deadline, but to what extent remains to be seen. They have to engage. In the past, the front office discussed the need to add front-end starters when possible. But how far are they willing to go, eh?
With a lack of available starting pitching out there, the prices will likely exceed anything the Twins want to pay. Free agency aside (Carlos Correa other Josh Donaldson), they’ve never “gone for it” under Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. It’s hard to see the Twins paying sky-high prices unless they knew they could lock up said pitcher to a long-term deal they find reasonable. — Dan Hayes
New York Mets
The recent return of Max Scherzer and the imminent one of Jacob de Grom limits the Mets’ appetite to add another premier starter. After all, they’ve played on a 100-win pace with scanned production from their Cy Young winners. However, when you start to sketch out a postseason rotation, there are a whole lot of ifs. If deGrom and Scherzer are healthy, if Taijuan Walker sustains his first-half pace in a way he couldn’t in 2021, if Chris Bassitt or Carlos Carrasco regain their early-season consistency — if all those things go well, adding a pitcher of Castillo’s quality will be superfluous. If any of them don’t, it could prove prophetic.
There’s also a critical secondary benefit in Castillo’s control into 2023. DeGrom, Walker and Bassitt can and likely will be free agents at season’s end. — Tim Britton
New York Yankees
The Yankees face a dilemma confronted by many good teams at this time of year. It is obvious that a pitcher like Castillo would improve the rotation. Is he good enough to start a playoff game for them? The answer, in this case, is in the affirmative. Gerrit Cole is the staff ace. Luis Severino has a wealth of playoff experience. After that, there are questions.
So the level of interest in The Bronx may depend on the viability of Nestor Cortes, Jameson Taillon other Jordan Montgomery. After getting taxed for four runs in 3.2 innings on July 8, Cortes had posted a 5.34 ERA in his last six starts. Taillon had a rough June. Montgomery has been steady, if not overpowering.
Castillo could take the ball in Game 2 or Game 3 of a series for the Yankees. But the team has options. Cortes was a revelation early in the year, and Montgomery is far from a problem. The team must decide how much it values ​​adding an elite arm to an already elite staff. — Andy McCullough
San Diego Padres
The Padres have four potential free agents in their starting rotation and limited pitching talent in the upper minors. Acquiring Castillo, who was briefly a Padre in 2016, would give them another arm for 2023. It also would upgrade the front of the rotation while freeing San Diego to deal one of its current starters for offensive help. — Dennis Lin
San Francisco Giants
Did you know the Giants were Castillo’s first organization? He was an OK-ish 21-year-old reliever who pitched to a 3.07 ERA in 48 appearances for Low-A Augusta in 2014 before the Giants traded him to the Miami Marlins for Casey McGehee, who was so brutal the Giants ate the third baseman’s $4.8 million salary after 49 games (and 15 double-play grounders).
But maybe we should cut the Giants some slack. The Marlins didn’t envision Castillo becoming a staff ace, either. They held onto him for just 18 months before dealing with him to the Padres, and when that trade had to be restructured due to Colin Rea’s failed physical, the Marlins turned around and moved Castillo to the Reds for Dan Straily.
This has been the Luis Castillo Transactional History Show and, no, it doesn’t provide any insight into where Castillo will go next. But hey, the Giants need pitching. And the universe owes them one for Casey McGehee. —Andrew Baggarly
Toronto Blue Jays
When the season began, the Blue Jays thought they had built a pretty strong starting rotation. But between Hyun Jin Ryu needing season-ending Tommy John surgery, and Jose Berrios other Yusei Kikuchi not having reliable command of their fastballs, their group looks less formidable than originally thought. They do have Alek Manoah other Kevin Gausmanwho have been pillars at the top of the rotation.
Do they need a top arm like Castillo? Not exactly. They could get by adding some back-end depth. But Castillo would provide good insurance if BerrĂos or Kikuchi — or both — can’t figure it out. And he fills the hole for next year with Ryu still out. — Kaitlyn McGrath
(Top photo: David Kohl / USA Today)
