Mets interested in Luis Castillo but they have some familiar competition

It’s no surprise to see the latest New York Mets trade rumors naming Luis Castillo as a top target for the team. All offseason, he was a guy many believed could end up in New York.

The Cincinnati Reds starter is 2-4 with a 3.71 ERA in 9 starts this year. He has already served and returned from an IL stint. The Mets’ need for a starting pitcher is because of their own injuries to starters even with the expectation that Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom will be back.

Beyond the Mets trade rumors linking them to Castillo, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman names two other teams who should be competing alongside Billy Eppler to execute this trade with Cincinnati.

Mets trade rumors link them to Luis Castillo but they have competition from the Padres and Twins

Alanis Morrissette put it best—isn’t it ironic? The Mets, San Diego Padres, and Minnesota Twins were all in the market for starting pitching this past winter. If we even include the Reds in the conversation, there are a lot of connections.

You may remember when the Padres almost sent the Mets pitcher Chris Paddack. He, instead, went to the Twins before suffering a season-ending injury. The Twins had already acquired Sonny Gray from the Reds in a trade earlier in the offseason. The Padres managed to pick up one of the other potential Mets targets when they landed Sean Manaea in a deal with the Oakland Athletics.

Fast-forwarding to a few weeks before the trade deadline, it looks like those three buyers will get heavily involved in the Castillo market. The same could happen with Frankie Montas, another guy everyone expects to see featured in many Mets trade rumors over the next several weeks.

As Heyman further notes, the Mets are after more than just a starting pitcher. Despite being one of the best offenses in the game at producing runs, they have a gaping hole at the DH spot. This isn’t the worse piece of news. The need for a DH opens the Mets up to far more possibilities than a hole at a specific position. They don’t have to overpay for a single player. Billy Eppler can navigate through the options and come away feeling like a winner.