Two years later, the Cincinnati Reds came out on top of Luis Castillo trade

We’re now almost two years removed from the offseason trade that sent Dan Straily to the Miami Marlins. It’s obvious now, that the Cincinnati Reds won that trade.

There were some who questioned the Cincinnati Reds in 2017 when they sent Dan Straily to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Luis Castillo, Austin Brice, and Zeek White. As the 2018 season wraps up, Castillo and the Reds take their talents to South Beach and it’s now obvious that the Reds won the trade.

In 2016, Dan Straily went 14-8 for the Cincinnati Reds. His 3.8 WAR that season was second on the team to only Joey Votto. Straily was second among the starting pitchers with a 3.76 ERA and led the team in wins.

Fast forward to the end of the 2018 season. Since being traded to the Marlins, Straily has gone 15-15 (.500) over 56 starts and has a 4.20 ERA. Straily is currently on the disabled list with an oblique injury.

On the mound tonight, and in the opposing dugout is Luis Castillo. The Cincinnati Reds’ starter burst onto the scene last season, and while he’s still ironing out the flaws in his game, his ceiling is incredibly high.

Castillo’s started 30 games this season and leads the Reds with 10 wins. Castillo pitched 89.1 innings last season and is likely to double that number this season. He enters Friday’s game with 161.1 IP. After maintaining a 3.12 ERA last season, Castillo’s ERA has increased to 4.52 this season.

Lately, however, Luis Castillo seems to be hitting his stride. During the month of September by Castillo is 3-1 with a 1.46 ERA. He still needs to figure out how to keep the ball in the ballpark. Castillo has allowed 4 home runs in his last 4 starts and 28 home runs overall this season.

While Austin Brice has yet to pan out for the Reds, and Zeek White hasn’t left Rookie-Level Billings, acquiring Luis Castillo gives Cincinnati a potential No. 1 starter going forward in the team’s rebuild. His changeup is by far his best pitch, and that’s saying something considering that Castillo’s fastball tops out in the high-90’s.

Unfortunately, for Dan Straily he will not be suited up for tonight’s game in Miami. But, fortunately for the Reds, Luis Castillo will be and he’ll be in a Cincinnati Reds’ uniform. The first pitch is tonight at 7:10 ET. Castillo will toe the rubber for the Redlegs and Wei-Yen Chen will be on the mound for the Marlins.