2 players the Reds will sorely miss from last year's team and 2 they won't

A lot has changed in Reds Country over the past 12 months. The Cincinnati faithful have seen their beloved Redlegs go from a contender in 2021 to a laughing stock in just a year's time.

The Cincinnati Reds abandoned their aspirations for contention last spring when the club waved goodbye to Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suarez, Sonny Gray, Nick Castellanos, and Amir Garrett. The club then doubled-down at last year's trade deadline and bid farewell to several other stalwart performers.

As spring training is set to begin in just a few weeks, let's take a peek at two players from last year's team that will be sorely missed, and two that fans were glad to see go.

Former Reds pitcher Luis Castillo will be sorely missed.

Oh boy! If there was one trade that most of the Cincinnati Reds fanbase wish the team could take back, it's probably shipping Luis Castillo to the Pacific Northwest last summer. Castillo, who brought back a haul of prospects in return, is an elite-level pitcher that you cannot replace very easily.

Castillo was traded to the Seattle Mariners and in return Cincinnati received two top shortstop prospects (Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo) as well as two right-handed pitching prospects (Levi Stoudt and Andrew Moore).

The Mariners, realizing the treasure they have received from the Reds, decided to ink La Piedra to a contract extension. Castillo signed a five-year extension worth $108M. The deal includes a vesting option that could see the two-time All-Star turn the contract into a six-year/$133M pact.

By today's standards, that's a relatively inexpensive contract for a No. 1 starter. However, with the Reds looking to rebuild from within, Castillo would have been at least two to three into the extension before Cincinnati would have entered its competiive window once again.

The Cincinnati Reds were wise to trade Luis Castillo when they did, as the team received a terrfific return. That said, La Piedra will be sorely missed next season. The Reds will be looking to the young guns like Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo to take over as the team's ace in 2023.