BREAKING NEWS: Luis Castillo traded to the Seattle Mariners

The Cincinnati Reds have agreed to trade starting pitcher Luis Castillo to the — Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Luis Castillo, the former ace of the Cincinnati Reds, has been traded to the Seattle Mariners. After a down 2021 season, Castillo had been the bright spot for a very, very bad Reds team. The Reds receive Noelvi Marte, Levi Stoudt, Edwin Arroyo, Andrew Moore for Castillo.

Why Luis Castillo was traded:

Again, the Reds are very bad and there is no sense in having a Porsche without gas. The Reds have no use for Castillo. With only one more year of control, it was just time to move on from their star righty.

Now, trading Luis Castillo to the Mariners just makes sense. Seattle is making a run at the title this year and Castillo can slide in. Castillo is a number two starter with ace stuff. Now will this get them over the hump to win it all? Maybe. However, its a chance worth taking.

The rundown on Castillo:

Castillo’s three-pitch mix features a 97 MPH fastball, 88 MPH change-up, and a 87 MPH slider. This year, Castillo has a 2.86 ERA (Earned run average) and a 3.21 FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching) both better than last year. Castillo’s wxOBA (Expected Weighted On-base Average) is in the 77th percentile among pitchers.

The trade return for Luis Castillo:

Compared to prior years, Castillo’s pure ERA is the best he’s had in his MLB career. He posted his second best FIP and fourth best wxOBA. With this resurgence, Castillo upped his value and gets dealt to a contender.

In return for an ace, you expect a haul of prospects. That’s just what the Reds got. Noelvi Marte, Levi Stoudt, Edwin Arroyo, and Andrew Moore is a ludicrous trade package for a year and a half of a starting pitcher. Marte and Arroyo alone almost feels like too much. The Reds get three of the top five prospects in the Mariners farm. In the case of Marte, he is a five-tool shortstop who is projected to be in the bigs by the end of 2023.

Personally, this is not a package I would have given up for Castillo. He will only be there for a year and a half before needing to get paid. Castillo is an ace, but he isn’t one I would sell the whole farm for at this point.