Many of the Redsout of season is focused on moving players (ie trading) Raisel Iglesias, non-tender Archie Bradley) rather than add, and eyebrows were raised last month when it was reported Luis Castillo‘s name was appearing in trade talks. However, there was no indication that the talks were serious, and Nick Krall, VP / General Manager of Reds, told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon). According to Krall, speculations about a ‘Castillo trade’completely false. We intend to have [Castillo] as a member of our rotation for 2021. ”
Castillo and the Reds recently agreed on a $ 4.2 million arbitration contract for 2021, and the right-hand man is still under team control until 2023, thanks to another two years of arbitration. Between this affordability, the three-year rule, and Castillo’s ability to turn forward, there’s not really an urgent reason for Cincinnati to move Castillo. Since the Reds seem to be focusing this winter on the payroll cut, an argument could be made that Castillo could be linked to a deal that would get a bigger contract (ie. Mike Moustakas, Nick Castellanos) from the books, but it wants to look like a terrible extreme move. One would think that Castillo would not be traded unless the Reds reverse the course completely and want to build now.
More tone notes from around the league …
- Julio TehranThe showcase on Tuesday will include another Mato Sports Management client, such as Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link) reported that Anibal Sanchez will also throw for scouts. Like Tehran, Sanchez wants to bounce back from a rough 2020 season, as Sanchez hosted an ERA of 6.62 over 53 overs for the Nationals last year. The Phillies were recently linked with Sanchez, but it was an otherwise quiet winter for news about the 36-year-old. As Sanchez has delivered just as good results as in 2019 (for the Nats of the World Series, no less), his market could start to grow if scouts like what they see on Tuesday. The Red Sox will have scouts on hand to see Sanchez and Tehran, Chris Cotillo, of MassLive.com tweets.
- Speaking of the Red Sox, driver Alex Cora noted that his team is investigating even more additions for rotations. ‘I’m going to keep saying this until April 1st [Opening Day], this puzzle is not complete. We have to be patient, ”Cora said in an interview on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (audio switch). That said, Cora is also delighted with the current group of scouts in Boston’s organization and says the Sox now have more depth of battle than in the 2019 or 2020 season. ‘Little by little, the front office did a good job last year and [in] the off-season to add some quality arms, some intriguing arms, ”Cora said.