Second, the Yankees acquire Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds
With the injury to starting pitcher Luis Severino, there is an opportunity for the Yankees to get rotation depth by acquiring Castillo, one of the best arms that will be available at the MLB trade deadline. In fact, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com recently called Castillo “the No. 1 starter available on this year’s trade market right now.”
If it’s the best, don’t be surprised if it’s chased by the Yankees, especially when landing someone like Castillo can keep him out of the hands of rivals such as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, teams that have been linked to him in rumors and could potentially meet up with the Yankees in the postseason.
Castillo has already performed well at Yankee Stadium this season, shutting down New York’s vaunted offense by allowing just two hits and one run over seven innings of work on July 14. That’s part of a recent run where the right-hander has a 2.20 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in his last seven starts. He’s also struck out 48 in the 45.0 innings covered during that stretch.
While Castillo is the ace in Cincinnati, he could come to the Bronx and fill in behind Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes, making the middle of the Yankees rotation even more of a strength in any seven-game series New York might face this postseason.