Luis Castillo was a Blue Jays trade target last winter, and unsurprisingly, Toronto continues to have interest in Castillo’s services, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. Though Castillo missed the first month of the season due to shoulder soreness, he has been in strong form with a 2.92 ERA over 71 innings, even if his Statcast numbers aren’t quite as reflective of top-notch performance. Castillo’s walk rate and hard-contact numbers are only okay, though his strikeout rate (25.3%) is well above league average and he still has elite fastball velocity.
The Reds right-hander is one of the very best players (let alone pitchers) expected to be available as the deadline approaches, making him a natural fit for a Toronto club in sore need of pitching upgrades. Between Hyun Jin Ryu’s Tommy John surgery and underwhelming performances from Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi, the faulty rotation has been the chief reason for the Jays’ struggles in the last month, which is why Nightengale writes that the Blue Jays “are expected to be the most aggressive team pursuing starting pitching help.” Last summer’s trade for Berrios is an example of how the Toronto front office hasn’t been hesitant to pay a big price for a player they want and need, though the Blue Jays will face plenty of competition for Castillo’s services.
More from both the AL East and NL East…
- Also from Nightengale, the Orioles’ surprisingly strong play seemingly hasn’t changed the club’s long-term plans, as Baltimore is “expected to unload” several notable veterans. The list of names includes both impending free agents like Trey Mancini, Rougned Odor, and Jordan Lyles, plus more controllable players like Anthony Santander and All-Star closer Jorge Lopez. It’s safe to assume that the price tag will be a lot higher for Lopez and Santander than the others, but regardless, the O’s likely aren’t going to change course and start thinking about a playoff push.
- Starling Marte left Saturday’s game due to a groin injury, and Marte wasn’t in the Mets lineup on Sunday. However, Marte is only day-to-day, as manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) that an MRI revealed only minor inflammation and no serious damage. Marte has been a big contributor in his first year in New York, and his first-half performance earned him a slot on the NL All-Star team earlier today. With this groin injury lingering, however, Marte might opt to skip the game to rest up over the break.
- Kevin Kiermaier was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier today, marking the second time this month that a nagging hip injury has put the Rays outfielder on the shelf. Kiermaier told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that he received a cortisone shot during his first IL stint, but now that the issue has returned, he’ll be visiting a specialist to further explore the injury. “There’s just a lot of unknowns right now with what’s to come….I don’t really know what the future holds, to be quite honest,” Kiermaier said, noting that surgery was a possibility. A major procedure could quite possibly end Kiermaier’s season, and thus maybe his tenure with the Rays altogether, as 2022 is the final guaranteed year of his contract. Kiermaier has spent all 13 of his pro seasons in the Tampa organization, though that tenure has involved several injury absences.
- There hasn’t been much public information revealed about the Nationals’ possible sale, but billionaire Michael B. Kim is the first name linked to the list of potential buyers, according to Barry Svrluga and Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. Kim and another bidding group have met in person with team officials already, and a third group is also slated for in-person meetings later in July. Though there seems to be an increasing feeling that the Lerner family will indeed sell the Nationals, it is still early in the process, since “as many as five or six individuals or groups are expected to meet with club officials.”
I think the O’s should make a playoff run. They are only 3 games out of a playoff spot. They are so close and should not unload.
The bullpen has thrown a lot of innings and won’t be able to sustain the pace throughout the season. They’re operating with 4 starters and Voth, a middle reliever, at the moment. And Wells, arguably the best starter, is on an innings limit this year after converting from relief last year.
They’re certainly playing exciting ball at the moment, but next year is more likely to offer a better shot when they can inject Rodriguez and Hall into the mix, and hopefully get John Means back.
Well said.
I think the Orioles will be willing to trade some of their veterans but in my opinion Lyles and Odor has brought some stability in the dug out. So I believe they may stay but Mancini and Santander will be traded. Lopez is not going anywhere.
Who is Boras going to fleece if the Lerners sell the Nats?
So true.
There’s always Arte Moreno and the Angels.
Lol yeah there’s sucker born everyday. It’s finding the trust fund variety that makes it tougher.
Only 2 games out after last night
The second half of the season is AL East heavy.
TRUST THE PLAN.
I agree. A lot of rebuilds have gone astray when teams start to move in before they are ready.
I would like to see the Orioles trade for Castillo. He is not a free agent until 24. We are flush with middle infielder prospects. Norby and a few lower level prospects.
The Reds need OF prospects more than they do infielders.
It’ll take alot more than Norby and a few lower level prospects for that to happen, that’s laughable..
What’s the point of the Jays acquiring a good starter when the bullpen is filled with soft-tossing journeyman?
I believe they are allowed more than one transaction to fix the team
Exactly like Romo who is Terrible, all he throws is slow junk followed by more slow junk. Looks like he could hide a mouse in the ratty beard.
Like Epstein and many others that build a team around hitters, Shapiro has been poor at developing pitching. He always overpays for it in trades and FA signings.
If a team cannot develop its own pitchers, once they acquire a name pitcher it’s only a matter of time before the coaching staff has him out of sync (“…..underwhelming performances from Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi”). Those teams are always looking to acquire more pitching at the trade deadline and during the offseason.
But their fans can have fun talking about how all their position players can hit (although many don’t field very well).
Can’t win down the stretch and in the post-season without quality pitching.
I thought Shapiro built the development system that has helped Cleveland to pump out a lot of good pitching. The returns in Toronto haven’t been great yet but he did secure a lot of resources to build the PDC and has convinced ownership to really invest in player development infrastructure and staff. I wonder about Atkins sometimes but in general I think Shapiro has done a good job of managing up to ownership and getting a lot of investment to build out infrastructure, a modern day front office, and a healthy budget.
KamKid;
That development system was put in place and evolved after Shapiro left. Check the dates of when Indians pitching turned around.
As for Atkins, he’s a former pitcher. Think he would have had a major influence on the Jays pitching processes.
Look back and see how many quality pitchers the Jays have developed internally in the past 5 years. I’m sure there are a few. But nowhere near the number of highly publicized prospects fans read about.
Would take Castillo and think he would love being a part of this jays team but at what cost…
Wonder if there is a Ryu for Votto component
Why on earth would you want Votto ? Have you looked at his performance and age … I don’t care if he’s from Toronto. Build a team with you’re head not you’re heart
Votto slashed .278/.395/.639 in May, followed by .274/.361/.495 in June. But don’t let facts get in the way of your generalizing, by any means
If the rollers wash for ryu who won’t start again for the jays under his remaining 2 years why not. Money for money
If I were our (Reds) GM, I would take Horwitz, Tiedemann, and one of Kirk/Moreno
I think Moreno and Tiedemann would get it done. Stevenson probably moving to 1st after Votto leaves next year…we need a good young catcher that can rake..
If we need “a good young catcher that can rake,” then why move Stephenson to 1B? He’s young, he’s a catcher, he’s raking, and his defense is good. Stick with him at catcher. It’s easier to find a 1B than a C.
TOR’s core is still quite young, but the early returns on the Berrios trade have it looking like it really set them back. Sure he probably rebounds at least a bit, but losing two prime tradable assets in SWR and Martin and perhaps just getting just passable SP work in return is going to sting, especially if they get outbid for Castillo and he dominates down the stretch, perhaps for a rival like NYY.
The Jays have turned-into a freak show. WTH happened up there?
The Blue Jays overrated rotation was never going to be good enough to carry their terrible bullpen and most of their lineup has regressed from last year. On top of that they have a circus clown serving as manager. There’s enough talent there to still be a wild card but they aren’t going anywhere in October
MT in Baltimore;
I wrote during the pre-season that media and fans expecting the Jays to take the next step and win the ALE were going to be disappointed.
This is typical Shapiro. He gets something set up then can’t help himself and has to tinker around trying to improve this position and that position as if he’s playing rotisserie baseball (or commenting under MLBTR articles). That stuff always messes with a teams chemistry as most of their players aren’t sure where they stand.
Dayton Moore of the Royals once stated that “all teams have holes / shortcomings”. He is correct. Look at recent World Series winners. Winning teams have players that trust their teammates and don’t try to win games single-handedly – pitchers have confidence in the bullpen and their defense; hitters just try to get on base believing the guys behind them can knock them in. When the FO is forever jacking around the roster and the manager is jacking around playing time (usually instructed to by the FO) then trust between players doesn’t happen. Pro-active is nice. But at some point those in charge need to let go and allow those doing the work to succeed or fail on their own. Goes for any business, artistic endeavor, etc.
IMHO, the people that ranked these teams kind of forgot that adding Gausman, Chapman & Kikuchi mostly only replaced Semien, Matz & Ray. And cumulatively, probably not as good.
They’re still a lot better than they’ve looked the past month, but they have some holes.
The Jays don’t have a lot of time left with this group. “The core” has mostly referred to Vlad and Bo, but important players like Hernandez and Gurriel are free agents after next year. They have a lot of money tied up in veterans. Springer is still productive but you sometimes see the age showing. They have a big arb class growing alongside the big contracts. They’ve used a fair bit of the farm in trade already. They still have resources, but aren’t as well positioned as they were a year ago and will have to navigate the next year or two quite carefully.
If I’m the Phillies I’m all over Castillo. They need someone behind Nola, Wheeler. Ass Castillo with a healthy offense. Be a tough out
There are children on this site Morgs. lol
The Phils don’t have the prospect capital it would require to get Castillo.
They do, but it would not be wise to give up that much for him. There are other starters on the market that would cost less and still be an upgrade.
They have, but I don’t think it’s the return the Reds need. They need position prospects, specifically OF, 1B that will be ready by 24.
Brett Kavanaugh should by the Nats.
Really curious to see how the Reds mess this up and get nothing for him despite all the interest.
They won’t. They’re not pressured to cut payroll anymore this year so won’t be attaching a bad contract along with him to reduce the prospect haul. He’s got a year and a half of control. Let the bidding begin. All the young arms they got in the fire sale have been pretty good as well.
They won’t be able to resist the temptation to package Moustakas with Castillo which should net them a former highly regarded prospect in need of a change of scenery. Seen this move many times.
I don’t see that happening.
I don’t either.. we’ll take your offers starting now, and will announce our decision on either August 1st or 2nd.. and thank you in advance.
What do most teams do before a sale? If you said pare payroll down to the nubs, you would be right. So who is on their way out the door in Washington in the next few weeks?
Guess its not a surprise that 13-14 of those guys will be FA at the end of the season. Corbin and Strasburg would be impossible to move without adding prospect galore. So I wonder what high salary or future high salary guys they will move by the deadline.
Cruz and Bell for sure. Would they dare trade Soto? If they did that would leave the 2023 payroll at under $100 and along with the return for Cruz and Bell would give them a formidable farm system.
You seem like you care about the team, as I do. Baseball is only going to approve new owners with deep pockets. If so, the sale will be driven by revenue-potential over time. Relatively little attention will be paid to transient matters: payroll costs, under water contracts like Corbin or Strasburg, or even the cost of deferred payments.
What will matter is fixing the MASN situation. All the teams with big payrolls have big TV contracts and are profitable even with the big payrolls.
As to Soto, it is my guess that a long-term contract with a marquee player who has the personality to be a face of the franchise…is a net-plus for the franchise’s value. The question isn’t: do new owner’s want to have a $40m a year player tying them down after the sale? The question is whether Soto is worth more than $40m year in a well-run franchise that has control of its TV rights. I believe that potential new owners would all answer yes.
Amen, brother. Fixing MASN is priority number one. Everything revolves around that. Preferably, getting out of MASN, as incredibly unlikely as that outcome is.
Does Moreno for Castillo ever make sense? Maybe Castillo+Diaz or Castillo+mahle if the jays really want to lean into adding starters
Not Moreno. Cincy’s best player is arguably Stephenson.
He’s moving to 1B because of concussions. He’ll DH when Votto’s playing and vice-versa, so another team’s C….Come On, Down!
I highly doubt he’s moving to 1B, but they don’t have a solid backup C. That could be a solid C/DH combo Stephenson/ Moreno. Spare both of their legs, and always have a good C. It would be tempting
I’m hearing Stevenson to 1st as well, they have to keep him healthy. That’s a great plan you suggest about a rotation with him and Moreno. I’d also say if either Mahle or Diaz are included, Cohen Tiedemann has to come with Moreno..
Not Cohen…not sure where that came from..
The Stephenson to 1B is everywhere, but I doubt Stephenson will be amiable to switching. I really wasn’t considering Mahle or Diaz as a part of it, just Castillo and Moreno as the primary pieces, but yes, if we added Mahle I’d be happy with the Tiedmann return plus 2 of their top 30 guys.
Yes, Stephenson…not Stevenson as I’ve been spelling it, sorry. He might go for it if it could lengthen his career and earning potential..
If Luis Castillo and Frankie Montas are both dealt by the deadline, they will definitely help a playoff team out there. Nice power arms that can be a nice #2 or #3 for any pitching rotation in the majors. My guess Castillo will be cheaper. The A’s are looking at taking prospects back that are paid the minimum for Montas. Thinking 2 top prospects in your top 15. And 1 or 2 in your 15-30. The Reds will be looking to get something similar for Castillo.
I’m thinking you’re wrong about Castillo being cheaper, with or without Montas going on the IL…the Reds can now demand anything they want, and they can even risk being outrageous..
Doesn’t look like Castillo is making his way to the Yankees. He’s probably the only starting pitcher out there capable of making a difference for them in October. Time to get back to looking at improving their outfield situation. Benintendi, Peralta, call up Florial? First we have to find the best way to get rid of Gallo.
@Mickey777- hey brother can’t believe this, but the Royals will take prospects back along with Joey Gallo to offset Andrew Benintendi’s salary. A package of Everson Pereira, JP Spears, Randy Vasquez and yes, your boy Joey Gallo probably gets it done now. Seriously Lolololololol!!! And please let’s forget about Peralta already. I love my boy Florial though! Please keep your comments coming, enjoy your posts.
Castillo to the Jays is a tricky situation. If they were relatively assured of making the playoffs, he’d be a good addition. But it is the same as last year with Berrios. A team like the Yankees are going to pay for 1.5 years of Castillo, since they are about a lock to finish 1st. If TO misses the playoffs again this year, then they are paying the price for 1.5 years, but really getting only one year in return.
They also need some BP help, but again, that won’t be cheap either.
I was thinking about something. Unvaccinated players effectively have a no trade clause to Toronto. If (Insert team) calls the Jays, or vice versa, and a trade is worked out for an unvaccinated player, and the player says I’m not getting the vaccine, obviously the Jays can’t make that deal. Do conversations have to start with, is so and so vaccinated? I don’t judge one way or the other as far as who has it or not, just seems another crazy little thing the Jays have to deal with, that no one else has to consider.
This is an excellent question.
I would say other playoff teams have to consider it if there is a chance their path through the playoffs goes through Toronto. NL central lines up with the east this year so we kind of already know that Castillo is vaccinated as he made a start in Toronto and Mahle was not at the time of that series. It’s a bigger deal for Toronto but other AL teams have to consider it too. Probably less of a concern for starting pitching as you can line them up at home but it might have an impact on the movement of position players and relievers.
I’ve been saying for the past few years that if the Blue Jays trade for Luis Castillo or Frankie Montas, then they’ll have a chance to win the AL East. Let’s face it they’re offense is insane. They just need another stud for the rotation. It just doesn’t seem like it’s Toronto’s year. So maybe Castillo or Montas for next season.
Let Max Castillo start a few more games. See what they got with that kid.
Another vet with a suspect arm is a waste.
This team needs to sign a legit ace and be done with plugging holes with fragile middle of the pack arms.
The qualifying offer is gone now so getting one extra year doesn’t mean much anymore.
Better to overpay in the offseason on a one year deal than deplete your farm for what amounts to a one year deal.
The Jays are supposedly a contender they have to pay for an ace.
Deplete the farm on guys like Alcantra, Cease or even Zach Wheeler.
Also, they need to teach Guerrero to stop playing with the laces on his glove and keep them tied up! That’s little league. Cost them the game.
Castillo isn’t a IL risky guy. 2018: 31 Starts 4.30 ERA, 2019: 32 Starts 3.40 ERA, 2020: 12 Starts 3.21 ERA in a 60 game season, 2021: 33 Starts 3.98. 2022 he has a 2.92 in 12 starts. There really isn’t anything to prove. The only question is, is it worth what it will cost to get him for your team?
And after his performance in Yankee Stadium last night…the price just went a little bit higher.
Blue Jays have been a pretty big disappointment this season … They could obviously make a run for a wild card, but man, I expected a whole lot better then this. Vlad has had 1 great season out of 3 so far in his mlb career.. save the sabermetric bullcrap for the ones who wanna hear it.
Been saying he’s overrated.. Bo is hitting around .250, swinging all over place. Lost his great approach when he first came up to the bigs, things aren’t looking good right now. Watch, in a few seasons when these guys will be on the brink of free agency in their final seasons they’ll have .300 seasons proably will have career years.
Mario93
Vlad has had 1 great season out of 3 so far in his mlb career.
==================================
Actually, he hasn’t had any great seasons.
It never gets discussed by the writers, since they don’t really understand baseball, but look at Vlad’s splits in his one “great” season. He had 98 PAs at Sahlen and 96 at TD field. If one were to take those PAs away, his OPS is more like .888 than the 1.002 he wound up with.
He’s still a real good player, but his stats need to be discounted. And that’s the same with the team as a whole. They had a very good .797 OPS in 2021, but that included a .833 at Sahlen and a .840 at TD.
Does anyone remember Josh Donaldson?
I don’t know about the rest of the season, but this just finished 4 game series sweep loss to Seattle was pretty much due to a terrible bullpen.
So…Toronto sits tied with Boston and Seafor the wildcard, and appear to be a bit desperate for pitching. If I’m Krall I call and say look, send us your #1 Moreno and #3 Tiedemann and we’ll send you Castillo and a solid mid level prospect and it’s a done deal. With Stevenson likley moving to first when Botto is done next year we need a good young catcher that can rake….otherwise we’ll just keep shopping him around, maybe to say, the Spankees..
Moreno and Tiedemann is a massive overpay. I’d be fine with Moreno and any combination of prospects not including Rickey after that. Tiedemann should be the only untouchable in the organization. He’s Manoah plus by the end of next season. Moreno, Groshans, Palmer…
I’m hearing Malhe or Diaz going with Castillo. If either of them are included then Tiedemann has to come along as well. I’m laughing at people who are saying the return should be comparable to what the Jays gave up for Berrios last season. There’s no comparison really. This is an entirely different market, and the Reds hold the biggest chip. Whoever wants La Piedra will have to overpay…period.
According to Jon Morosi, the Reds and Dodgers have been in preliminary discussions about Luis Castillo. It’s still early in talks, but it’s something to keep an eye on.