Reds righty Luis Castillo and A’s righty Frankie Montas will not be and by no means have been teammates, however their commerce markets have been close to inextricably linked relationship again to the offseason. That’s comprehensible, given the similarities between them. The 29-year-olds are separated by simply three months in age, by about $2MM in wage and are each managed by way of the tip of the 2023 season. Statistically, they’re nearly identical — though Castillo has dealt with the bigger workload in recent times. Each pitch for golf equipment that had been extra targeted on slicing payroll and stashing prospects than on placing collectively a 2022 winner. As such, each are apparent commerce candidates (and have been because the winter).
The Cardinals, Mariners and Yankees have been the three most aggressive groups on the Montas/Castillo entrance, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports, with the Twins, Blue Jays and Padres every additionally within the fold to various extents. Jon Heyman of the New York Put up also hears the Yankees are concerned on each hurlers and calls including a starter “a precedence” for New York.
Bolstering the rotation is equally going to be a key goal for St. Louis. The Cardinals have misplaced Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz to damage in current weeks. Flaherty is already on the 60-day injured record and will probably be out till at the very least late August attributable to a shoulder pressure. Matz tore the MCL in his left knee over the weekend. John Denton of MLB.com wrote just a few days in the past that Matz was optimistic about avoiding season-ending surgical procedure, however he’s anticipated to be sidelined into September even when he can rehab with out going underneath the knife.
The Cardinals additionally confronted a rotation scarcity ultimately summer season’s deadline. They addressed that somewhat modestly, buying veterans Jon Lester and J.A. Happ as strike-throwing stabilizers in the back of the rotation. Robert Murray of FanSided reported final night time the entrance workplace was searching for a higher-impact hurler than a Lester/Happ sort this yr, and a pursuit of Castillo and/or Montas actually aligns with that evaluation. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, in the meantime, writes that the Cardinals have explored the marketplace for each impending free brokers and starters with a number of remaining seasons of membership management.
New York, in the meantime, just lately misplaced Luis Severino to the injured record on account of a lat pressure. New York welcomed again Domingo Germán to take his rotation spot, however there’s not a ton of confirmed wholesome depth past their prime 5. The Yankees have additionally seen righty Jameson Taillon scuffle of late, leaving them scouring the marketplace for further assist. Just like the Cardinals, they appear to be casting a large internet. Along with high-impact hurlers within the Castillo/Montas vary, they’ve additionally been linked to Pittsburgh’s José Quintana, who’d be a lower-cost depth pickup on the again finish.
As for the Mariners, they’ve a variety of areas they will add over the following six days. The M’s simply wrapped up a sweep of the Rangers to tug to 54-45. They’re ten video games again of the Astros within the AL West however in possession of the American League’s second Wild Card spot. They’re three video games away from the Guardians, the non-playoff workforce with the perfect report within the league.
With a robust alternative to snap a playoff drought that has lasted greater than 20 years, the Mariners are in place to hunt affect expertise. Seattle entered play Wednesday with the sixth-lowest rotation ERA (3.65) within the majors. They’re middle-of-the-pack from a strikeout/stroll perspective, nonetheless, with each Chris Flexen and Marco Gonzales posting below-average strikeout charges. There are additionally attainable innings issues for highly-touted rookie George Kirby, who has already tallied 96 frames this season between the minors and massive leagues. That’s above the 67 2/3 innings he logged within the higher minors final yr, so there’s actually room for an additional starter to alleviate a number of the strain on Kirby down the stretch and for what the membership hopes will probably be a postseason run.
