Cincinnati Reds All-Star: What Luis Castillo Means To The Cincinnati Reds

Luis Castillo has been the best Reds pitcher this year, even though he hadn’t been able to play in the first couple of months of the season. He was able to get voted into the All-Star game, which was played on Tuesday night.

He ended up striking out two of the four batters he faced, but the American League was able to pull out the victory with their three runs in the fourth inning to win 3-2.

For the Reds, Castillo is a pitcher they can rely on to give them a good showing and put them in the position to win. The problem is that the Reds are 34-57, which is last in the NL Central and 15 games behind first place.

As the Reds are in no position to be a playoff team this year and probably for a couple of years at least, the value of Luis Castillo should be in his trade value.

Let’s look ahead at the top teams that are looking to trade for the right hander and what the Reds could receive in return from those deals.

Top Landing Spots: Luis Castillo

The first team that is very interested in Castillo and would fit well in that rotation would be the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers could be looking to deal one of their plethora of young catchers in a deal for Castillo. Catchers are hard to come by, but the Dodgers are set up for this season and the future.

Keibert Ruiz and Diego Cartaya are the two possible options if the Dodgers are looking to give up one of their catchers. The Reds are in need of some depth, offensively, and Castillo is not going to help out the Reds while they are rebuilding.

The Yankees are the next top contender for Luis Castillo, and it seems like they are neck and neck with the Dodgers. The reason that I think that the Dodgers have the upper hand as of now is because it looks like the Reds want either Roderick Arias or Trey Sweeney, and the Yankees are not looking to give up either top-notch young shortstop.

Castillo would fit in very well in an already talented Yankees rotation. I would expect him to be the No. 2 option behind Ace Gerrit Cole.

Other options like Anthony Colpe and Jasson Dominguez, who both appeared in the All-Star Futures Game this past weekend, are also potential options to be dealt in the trade. If the Yankees are willing to deal some of these players away, the Yankees would have a big upper hand for Castillo.

The other teams who are in the mix for Castillo are the Twins, Mets, Blue Jays, Mariners, and the Red Sox. That makes for a crowded field who are looking to swoop up Castillo.

At this point, the Reds are in a great position to get as much as possible for Castillo. With so many teams pushing for Castillo’s talent, the Reds can sit back and be pitched different options to set them up for their rebuild.