The Reds rumored interested in trading for Yankees' Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza is a bit befuddling

This one is a bit puzzling to me. Obviously Luis Castillo is a popular name among opposing GMs as the trade deadline approaches, but some of the names being discussed just don't make much sense.

The New York Yankees have long been rumored to be interested in trading for the Cincinnati Reds starter and many within the industry list the Bronx Bombers as one of the most likely teams to land Castillo in the coming weeks.

But do the Reds really need to add Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza to the team's farm system? Both a phenomenal young talents, but Cincinnati has more shortstops than they know what to do with at the moment.

Why are the Reds interested in Yankees' shortstops Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza?

The New York Yankees have two shortstops listed among the Top 50 prospects in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. Volpe comes in at No. 8 and Peraza at No. 38. To be quite honest, Volpe is probably off limits as far as the Yankees are concerned.

The issue isn't the Cincinnati Reds pursuit of the players; both Volpe and Peraza are very highly-regarded. But the Reds have two shortstops of their own ranked in the Top 100 in Elly De La Cruz (49) and Matt McLain (59). Not to mention former top infield prospect Jose Barrero who's sitting at Triple-A.

While some scouts and pundits see De La Cruz shifting to third base in the coming years, you've still got Barrero and McLain. The opportunity exists for one of those two prospects to eventually be moved to the outfield, but the Reds have shown no inclination to do so at this time.

Could it be that the Cincinnati Reds are not sold on Jose Barrero after all? The 24-year-old has struggled mightily at Triple-A this season, but Barrero is very highly-regarded by most within the Cincinnati organization.

If Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza are part of a return at the trade deadline, there's no question that the Reds have improved their farm system. But they will have also created a bottleneck at shortstop that will need to be sorted out. Both Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain are not playing at Double-A Chattanooga.