Rangers could target another Reds pitcher after missing out on Luis Castillo

On Friday, the Cincinnati Reds agreed to trade right-handed starter Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners. The Reds received a package of prospects in return highlighted by shortstop Noelvi Marte.

While many team, including the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Minnesota Twins were rumored to have interest in Castillo, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Texas Rangers were strongly in the mix for La Piedra.

It's not perplexing to see why. The Rangers are currently on the outside of the playoff race looking in and need to bolster their starting rotation if they hope to make a run during the second half of the 2022 season. Might the Reds have another starter the Rangers would be interested in?

Could the Reds and Rangers work out a deal for Tyler Mahle?

With the Luis Castillo trade rumors now put to bed, the Cincinnati Reds front office can focus on improving their farm system even more by dealing a handful of other veterans. One of those players should be fellow right-handed starter Tyler Mahle.

Mahle is slated to start today's game for the Reds agains the Baltimore Orioles, but he may not get the chance. With Castillo off to the Emerald City to join his former teammates Eugenio Suárez and Jesse Winker, team executives will be flocking to their phones looking to acquire pitchers like Mahle and Frankie Montas.

If the Texas Rangers were in talks with the Reds about landing Castillo, they'd surely be interested in Mahle too, right? The assumption would be that Texas was unwilling or unable to match the trade package put forth by the Seattle Mariners, but a deal for Mahle shouldn't cost as much in terms of prospect capital.

The Rangers' farm system doesn't get talked about enough, but Texas has six prospects among the Top 100 according to MLB Pipeline. They've certainly got the type of return necessary to land Tyler Mahle before next Tuesday.

Perhaps a combination of pitcher Owen White and infielder Dustin Harris could be part of a solid return. The Rangers also have outfield prospects Aaron Zavala and Anthony Gutierrez in their farm system as well.

While the Yankees, Dodgers, and Twins have been most vocal about landing a frontline starting pitcher at the deadline, don't sleep on the Texas Rangers swinging a deal for Tyler Mahle.