Reds rumors: Luis Castillo trade speculation is much ado about nothing

The first Reds rumors of the trade season involve Luis Castillo, and I believe it’s much ado about nothing. Jon Morosi of MLB Network calls Castillo one of the most coveted pitchers on the trade market. Well, duh! Tell us something we don’t know.

Morosi cited Castillo’s 1.76 ERA over his previous nine starts, which is now down to 1.71 over his last 10 starts. Morosi even doubled-down on his earlier tweet after Castillo’s dominance over the St. Louis Cardinals, saying that every contender would want to trade for him and yet Cincinnati is unlikely to move the right-hander.

No kidding! Of course every playoff contender would love to have a pitcher like Luis Castillo. Why do you think it’s highly unlikely the Reds would trade him? Is Morosi suggesting that Cincinnati, who’s sitting 6.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central and 5.5 games back of the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card are not contenders?

I guess I’m a little confused as to who Jon Morosi is referring. Is he talking about the second-place Philadelphia Phillies who just fell to a game under .500? Is it the New York Yankees who are eight games back of the division leaders in the AL East? These latest Reds rumors are simply stating the obvious.

The latest Reds rumors about Luis Castillo are much ado about nothing.

Jon Morosi is a talented reporter for MLB Network and I usually enjoy his commentary and perspective, but these Reds rumors surrounding Luis Castillo seem silly at best. Citing Luis Castillo’s dominance is fine, but suggesting every team would want to have his services is like suggesting that every team would love to have Mike Trout.

Now, if I’m reading into Morosi’s statement about how coveted Castillo is among contenders, one could surmise that the Cincinnati Reds would be able to get quite a haul for the 28-year-old. Given that he has two more years of team control, if Nick Krall were willing to entertain a trade, the Redlegs may be able to snag two Top 100 prospects in return, plus some other pieces.

Personally, I believe the trade speculation surrounding Luis Castillo will heat up once again in the offseason and there’s a 50/50 chance we see La Piedra playing for a different team in 2022. Given the Reds’ lack of spending and the two highly-touted pitchers (Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo) in their farm system, trading Castillo this winter seems more likely than extending him.

For now, let’s just table these latest Reds rumors, and enjoy the fact that Cincinnati has now defeated the St. Louis Cardinals six straight times. Luis Castillo should be on the mound again for the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, and I expect he’ll be in a Reds’ uniform for the remainder of the 2021 season.