2 former Reds players who are struggling elsewhere and 1 who's found tremendous success

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The Cincinnati Reds have had a lot of turnover over the last two years. The team refused to re-sign some key pieces and then resorted to a fire sale last spring. The Reds plans for the future culminated at last year's trade deadline when the last of their remaining stars were sent packing.

Several former Reds, including the aforementioned Sony Gray, Wade Miley, Eugenio Suarez, and Anthony DeSclafani have had great starts to this season. Others like Nick Castellanos, Tyler Mahle, and Jesse Winker have had moderate beginnings in 2023.

But a few former Reds players have gotten off on the wrong foot. Let's look at three former Reds players who are struggling with their current teams in 2023.

Former Reds player Brandon Drury is struggling so far in 2023.

Things are not off to a hot start for former Reds slugger Brandon Drury. After breaking out in 2022, the Cincinnati Reds traded Drury to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline last summer.

Drury was a free agent after last season and ended up signing a two-year/$17-million contract with Los Angeles Angels during the offseason. There were several Reds fans who wanted to see Cincinnati make a run at re-signing Drury. After seeing the contract he signed and his production during the early-going of the 2023 season, it's a good thing they didn't.

Drury is hitting below the Mendoza line, has a slugging percentage below .300, and has only one round tripper on the season. Drury's OPS+ is below 50. The former Reds third baseman has been seeing time mainly at both first and second base with the Angels due to Anthony Rendon's presence on the roster.

It's early in the season, and surely Brandon Drury can turn things around, but the 30-year-old had never seen better production during a season than the 92 games he played with the Cincinnati Reds in 2022. Over the first-half of last season Drury hit .274 with 20 home runs and 59 runs batted in.

Former Reds player Mike Moustakas is struggling so far in 2023.

Whether is was age, injuries, or something else, it just never worked out for Mike Moustakas during his time with the Cincinnati Reds. The team decided to part ways with Moose this past offseason depsite the fact it was going to cost them a pretty penny.

The Reds designated Moustakas for assignment this winter which paved the way for Spencer Steer to become the team's everyday starting third baseman. It also cost the Redlegs $22-million. Moustakas was owed $18-million this season and has a $4-million buyout for next season.

Moustakas took his time this offseason, but eventually found a home in the Mile High City and signed a minor-league deal with the Colorado Rockies. Moose played well during Cactus League play and was added to the Rockies Opening Day roster.

But his success from spring training has yet to carry over to the regular season. Moustakas is hitting just .182 and has nearly a 30-percent strikeout-rate. On the plus side, four of Moustakas' five hits have gone for extra bases.

It was painfully obvious after the 2022 season that the union between the Cincinnati Reds and Mike Moustakas needed to end. It was a costly move, but the Reds were going to be on the hook for that number no matter what.

Former Reds player Luis Castillo is having tremendous success so far in 2023.

The Cincinnati Reds traded Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners last summer in exchange for Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Levi Stoudt, and Andrew Moore. While the Reds have yet to see much from these young prospects, the Mariners have to be over the moon with their acquisition of Castillo's services.

Castillo has been one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball this season. La Piedra is 2-0 with a 1.52 ERA in five starters with 34 strikeouts in just under 30 innings of work. A good portion of the Mariners playoff hopes are resting on the right arm of Castillo.

Castillo has just six walks on the season for a measly BB-rate of just 5.4-percent. Couple that with his outstanding 30.4-percent strikeout-rate for a terrific 25-percent K/BB-rate according to FanGraphs. His 25-percent K/BB-rate is the highest of his career.

Do the Reds miss Castillo? No doubt. But at 30 years old entering his final year of arbitration, it was unlikely Cincinnati was going to re-sign their ace. Instead, Castillo inked a multi-year deal with the Mariners and the Redlegs have pinned their future on former first-round pick Hunter Greene.

Next. 5 players the Reds gave up on too soon. dark

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