07-28-2022, 08:22 AM
(07-28-2022, 01:27 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I'll still watch Hunter Greene, Graham Ashcraft and Nick Lodolo pitch.
We have a really promising starting line up for the future with those 3 showing signs of greatness. I am excited for the future of this team, especially if we get a few premium near-majors prospects for Castillo.
Trading Castillo could also open up a spot in the rotation for Brandon Williamson, the key piece of the Winker/Suarez trade, who will likely be called up in September at the latest.
I'm personally looking forward to 2024 for the Reds because they'll be out from under two really bad contracts in Votto and Moose, assuming they buy out the 2024 options (7M for Votto and 4M for Moose, compared to their 20M salaries in 2025.)
For now, stock up on prospects, get them major league ready and have a big free agency in 2024. Hopefully, with a star studded rotation by then and enough money to fill out the batting order, we could be looking at a contending team in 2 years.
The big rumor is that the Yankees are becoming more open to trading number 2 overall prospect Oswald Peraza for Castillo. He's a SS that was previously thought to be totally off limits. It would be a premium return with other prospects thrown in. I'd want something else on a mid-tier top 100 prospect pitching level, and they have a couple of guys like that. NYY is showing some serious weaknesses of late, and Castillo is precisely the kind of player they need. I despise seeing him go because he's probably the best pitcher we've had since Soto. That said, it would be a step forward for this organization to trade a highly-valued commodity like Castillo and not get fleeced by a bigger organization as they have in the past.
I can't stand the Castellinis and their cheap, nepotism based organizational structure, but Krall should be commended if he holds out and works a trade partner into giving up more than they initially wanted to to get Luis. Whoever gets him will get a guy that's perhaps a second tier ace that's currently pitching like a first tier one. The acquiring team should have to bleed out in the farm system to the point where it's painful for them. Quality isn't free and high quality takes a premium to bring in.
This trade should make the Reds farm system top ten in the league when the dust settles. If it doesn't, they have failed. I look at the Astros, who basically tanked and stocked the farm system for a few years before they became a major AL power and won a title. They were an absolute joke. Then, as their prospect capital started to mature, they blossomed into a loaded team that was largely built through trading for young players, drafting well, and developing. The Reds should have done this after 2013 but they botched it by holding on to players too long. That can't happen this time.
