3 surprise teams who could target Luis Castillo or Tyler Mahle in a trade

We've all heard the rumblings, and given the Cincinnati Reds horrible start to begin the season, it's no wonder that both Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle are being rumored to be on the trade block.

Some fans thought the Reds should have offloaded the duo prior to the start of the 2022 season, but instead the front office tried to thread that very fine needle and remain competitive despite slashing payroll.

The execution of that didn't go over too well and the Reds are virtually out of playoff contention despite the season being just barely a month old. Cincinnati will now likely turn their attention to the future a look to acquire assets for their two star pitchers.

But who's going to be interested in trading for Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle? The better question might be, who's not going to be interested, right? But let's look at some surprise teams that might not be on your radar.

1. The Phillies could be a surprise team to trade for Reds pitchers Luis Castillo or Tyler Mahle.

The Philadelphia Phillies have a championship lineup, but the starting rotation leaves a lot to the imagination. Despite the fact that Zack Wheeler anchors the the Phillies pitching staff, Philadelphia is well off the pace in the National League East Division.

The Phillies signed Bryce Harper a few years ago, then brought along Zack Wheeler, and his past offseason saw Philly sign both Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber to massive contracts. The Phillies are going all-in.

With that in mind, and having already crossed the luxury tax threshold, perhaps the Phillies would be willing to make a trade for either Luis Castillo or Tyler Mahle. The New York Mets are well out in front of the Phillies in the NL East and Philadelphia will have a lot of ground to make up. In order to do that, they may have to go after another starting pitcher.

Kyle Gibson is only signed through this season and Zach Eflin will be a free agent after the season as well. Adding Luis Castillo or Tyler Mahle would guarantee the Philadelphia Phillies at least another year of stability within their starting rotation.

2. The Diamondbacks could be a surprise team to trade for Reds pitchers Luis Castillo or Tyler Mahle.

The Philadelphia Phillies were thought to be contender in the National League this season, but I don't think many people felt as though the Arizona Diamondbacks would be that same conversation. But here we are in the middle of May and the D-Backs have a better record than the Phillies.

Not only that, but the D-Backs have one of the best starting rotations in all of Major League Baseball. Only the highly-touted Los Angeles Dodgers starting rotation has a better ERA. But that doesn't mean that Arizona shouldn't look to improve their rotation.

After all, the D-Backs reside in the incredibly difficult National League West. Every team in that division currently has a winning record. That won't be the case for long, especially if the Diamondbacks don't bolster their rotation.

Madison Bumgarner, Merrill Kelly, and Zac Gallen have gotten off to extremely good starts, but the same cannot be said for Humberto Castellanos. The D-Backs also have Zach Davies in the rotation, and while serviceable, the former Milwaukee Brewers starter isn't going to win a Cy Young Award anytime soon.

Adding Luis Castillo or Tyler Mahle to the Arizona Diamondbacks rotation could be an extremely shrewd pickup on the part of general manager Mike Hazen. Having one of the Cincinnati Reds starters join the likes of Bumgarner, Kelly, and Gallen for the next year-plus could really elevate the D-Backs chances of competing in the NL West this season and beyond.