The San Diego Padres acquired and then lost now-Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher in a trade during the 2016 season. Could the Padres finally land a more mature and coveted Castillo in another trade six years later?
San Diego Padres rumors: Team interested in Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo
It was during the 2016 trade deadline that the San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins put together a swap that involved Colin Rea heading to south Florida and a 23-year-old prospect named Luis Castillo heading to San Diego. However, after a Rea injury sprung to the surface shortly after the trade, the swap was negated as Castillo and Rea headed back to the respective organizations.
For roughly a day, Castillo was a member of the Padres organization. Now, the Padres are looking to once again acquire him, but this time because of his current work and not his potential.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Padres are one of the teams interested in acquiring Castillo at this year’s trade deadline. Heyman also mentions the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets as teams who are interested in Castillo, who has a 2.92 ERA/3.03 FIP/1.099 WHIP in 12 starts covering 71.0 innings this season.
In two July starts, Castillo has allowed two runs and 10 hits over 14.0 innings of work, but did not factor in either decision.
When the Padres first acquired Castillo, he not advanced past Double-A. In the offseason after the negated trade, Castillo was part of a trade package between the Marlins and Reds. He would make his MLB debut on June 23, 2017, and has posted a 3.64 ERA in 135 starts covering 778.1 innings since then for the Reds.
With the Padres chasing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West as well as lock down a postseason spot through (at worst) a Wild Card spot, adding to the rotation is reported to be a priority for San Diego at the trade deadline.
Cincinnati is expected to continue what has been a selloff that started shortly after last season ended, and Castillo is among their prized trade chips. If the Padres are to land him, they will fight some fierce competition to land a pitcher who could have been theirs six years ago.