Mets: Which 2020 Reds pitcher makes the most sense in Flushing?

Luis Castillo

It’s going to cost the Mets a lot to land Luis Castillo. Maybe the most unfortunately named pitcher the Mets could maybe get, he’s a younger guy just about to enter his prime.

Needless to say, Cincinnati is not going to hand Castillo over to any team without getting a whole lot back in return. He’ll pitch next season at age 28 with several years of control remaining. As a guy any team can afford financially, the difficulty comes when trying to put together the best package possible.

Castillo was 4-6 with a 3.21 ERA this past season. A year prior, in 32 starts, he was 15-8 with a 3.40 ERA.

With an average of 10 strikeouts per nine across his first 90 big league starts, we may have only gotten a glimpse at the beginning of what Castillo can do in the majors. If not for pitching on a bad team for the last few years, he would have certainly had a much better record—one that currently sits at 32-33.

We can only speculate as to how much the Mets would need to sell off in order to acquire this pitcher from the Reds. I’m guessing at least one of the team’s more notable prospects would have to travel to Cincinnati in order to push any deal through.

Castillo would be a great piece for the Mets to add because of how many years they can get out of him. However, he might not be the greatest fit due to the cost.

Steve Cohen has made it known that he intends to replenish the Mets farm system in some way. Likely, this comes by not subtracting much talent from it.

If we do see Castillo in a Mets uniform, I think it comes as a trade deadline deal. Right now, the team can go in too many other directions without burning up their future.