4 possible trade destinations for Reds starter Luis Castillo

There seems to be a strong possibility that Cincinnati Reds starter Luis Castillo may be traded this offseason.

While the Reds are not actively "shopping" the right-hander, several rumors are circulating suggesting that Cincinnati's front office is listening to offers.

This shouldn't come as a shock after seeing the Reds deal longtime catcher Tucker Barnhart and waive left-handed starter Wade Miley.

While I stop short of describing Cincinnati's offseason as a rebuild, it does appear that the ownership is looking to cut the payroll, and they've effectively eliminated $33.5M off the books for next season.

Barnhart's 2022 salary of $7.5M was shipped to Detroit, Miley's $10M hit will now be on the Cubs' books, and Nick Castellanos opted out of a deal that would have paid him $16M next season.

If the Reds do plan to trade Luis Castillo, this is the time to do it. Castillo has two years of team control remaining and his ERA over the second-half of the 2021 season was a sparkling 2.73.

Castillo is estimated to make $7.6M in 2022 according to MLB Trade Rumors. If the Reds do not see Castillo in their long-term plans, it's time to move on.

While the list of teams interested in Luis Castillo could be endless, let's take a look at the four most likely destinations.

1. The Mariners could trade for Reds starter Luis Castillo.

One of the more surprising teams in the American League last season was the Seattle Mariners. The M's finished with 90 wins on the season and fell just short of making the final Wild Card spot in the AL.

Seattle is a good, young team. Manager Scott Servis guided his squad to unexpected success in 2021, and Mariners fans are hoping for more of the same in 2022.

The Mariners biggest weakness, however, is their starting rotation. Not a single M's pitcher, who started more than 15 games, had an ERA below 3.50.

Justus Sheffield, Marco Gonzales, and Logan Gilbert look to be part of the starting rotation in 2022, but adding an arm like Luis Castillo could put the Mariners into the driver's seat in the AL West.