Mets linked with Reds' Luis Castillo amid injury woes

Barring a miraculous second-half-of-the-season rally, the Cincinnati Reds are essentially already out of this season's playoff picture and will enter Friday at a woeful 23-46. The New York Mets, meanwhile, sit atop the National League East standings but are currently without starters Tylor Megill, Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom and Carlos Carrasco through at least Saturday night because of injury setbacks. 

Scherzer and Carrasco could both be in the New York rotation by the first full weekend of July, but the Amazins nevertheless are likely searching for some help. Enter the Reds, who could be interested in shopping right-hander Luis Castillo before the Aug. 2 trade deadline. 

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, "the Mets are among a few teams showing early interest" in Castillo. 

Per Ryan Morik of SNY, Castillo is under team control through next season, and the 29-year-old has recorded a 3.92 ERA across his last 42 starts going all the way back to the beginning of the 2021 campaign. For the current season, he's 2-4 with a 3.71 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 49 strikeouts tallied over nine starts and 51 innings of work. 

It was reported earlier on Thursday that the Mets are hoping to get a good look at deGrom for multiple weeks next month before the trade deadline. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has missed the entire season due to a stress reaction in the scapula of his pitching shoulder and last pitched in an MLB game on July 7, 2021.