5 Mets starting pitcher trade candidates to revisit at the 2022 trade deadline

Throughout the 2021-2022 offseason, there was always a thought the New York Mets would make a trade for a starting pitcher. They did add one this way. They managed to pick up Chris Bassitt in a deal with the Oakland Athletics.

The Mets now have a seemingly complete rotation when everyone is healthy. We’ve been fooled before, though. The baseball gods are tricksters who enjoy twisted ankles, sore shoulders, and the occasional pulled groin.

The Mets did enough at the start of the offseason to remove realistic possibilities of trading for a position player. They left us with a slew of starting pitchers we debated all winter long. At the 2022 trade deadline, these five would be worth revisiting.

The Mets have a new starting pitcher white whale and it’s Luis Castillo

It seems like until Luis Castillo has a long-term deal signed somewhere that he will be someone we’ll always contemplate as a potential member of the Mets. Trapped in literal baseball purgatory with the Cincinnati Reds who can’t decide if they’re trying to win or lose this year, he’s a free agent after next season and a guy we should expect to be among the top trade candidates until then.

Castillo has been regarded as one of the potential breakthrough starting pitchers for several seasons now. Pitching in Cincinnati hasn’t helped his cause. However, he has put together a fine career that may only get better.

On a level or two below guys like Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, Castillo is among the top attainable trade pieces in baseball through trade when there’s more than a year left on his contract. This summer, with a season and a half until a final decision needs to be made, we should expect the Mets to revisit any previous talks they had with the Reds.

Unless the Reds surprise us all and become midseason buyers, expect plenty of July trade rumors about him and the Mets.