Report: Reds 'full steam ahead' on trading All-Star SP Luis Castillo
In addition to Frankie Montas of the Oakland Athletics, Luis Castillo has been the most popular name on the trade market among starting pitchers. The righty hurler very well could've made his final start in a Cincinnati Reds uniform on Wednesday night — a strong seven-inning, three-run effort in which he picked up his fourth win of the year.
The trade deadline is on Tuesday and ESPN's Buster Olney provided an update on Castillo's availability late Thursday morning.
The Reds are last in the NL Central at 38-59 and are only ahead of the Athletics (38-63) and Washington Nationals (34-66) in the MLB standings. It's no coincidence that the A's and Nationals currently employ two of the hottest names on the market in Montas and All-Star outfielder Juan Soto, respectively.
Castillo has frequently been connected to the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, the latter of which just made the first big move in the final push ahead of the deadline in acquiring All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals. Through 14 starts, the 29-year-old two-time All-Star is 4-4 and has registered 90 strikeouts across 85 innings pitched, while posting career-best marks in ERA (2.86) and WHIP (1.07) as well.
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