Yankees' reluctance to include this top prospect in trade talks with the Reds cost them Luis Castillo

The Cincinnati Reds traded Luis Castillo the Seattle Mariners on Friday night. In return, Cincinnati got quite the haul including shortstop prospect Noelvi Marte.

For the past few years all Reds fans have heard about was how much the New York Yankees wanted to trade for Castillo. Yankees fans would drone on and on about how good Castillo would look in pinstripes.

Well, Yankees' GM Brian Cashman had his chance, and he blew it. The Yankees were seen by many throughout the industry as the leaders in the clubhouse for Castillo's services. So what happened?

Yankees' reluctance to include SS Anthony Volpe in a trade with the Reds cost them Luis Castillo.

What happened was the New York Yankees got stingy and it cost them. Outside of Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, both of whom may not be moved before August 2nd, there was no better player available at the trade deadline than Luis Castillo.

If you were a contending team in need of starting pitching, you were calling Nick Krall and the Cincinnati Reds. Castillo could be the prize of this year's trade deadline. The right-hander is at worst a No. 2 pitcher on a good staff and will not become a free agent until 2023.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees informed the Reds from the outset of trade talks that shortstop prospect Anthony Volpe was off the table. That's a pretty poor strategy on the part of Brian Cashman, but it definitely helped Nick Krall in his evaluation of other potential offers.

Sherman notes that the Yanks were willing to listen on offers for fellow shortstop Oswald Peraza, but the Reds ultimately decided that there was a better deal out there. Noelvi Marte was the crown jewel of the Seattle Mariners farm system and will likely be slotted right behind fellow shortstop Elly De La Cruz in the Cincinnati Reds farm system.

According to MLB Pipeline, Anthony Volpe is the second-best shortstop prospect in baseball behind only Baltimore Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson. Noelvi Marte comes in at No. 7 and Oswald Peraza ranks No. 9.

The New York Yankees will now have go back to the drawing board and see what the Oakland A's are asking for Frankie Montas' services. The Cincinnati Reds certainly set the bar very high for any team interested in Montas, and may well have boosted the asking price for Tyler Mahle as well.