Cincinnati Reds

The 5-23 Cincinnati Reds are well on their way to an abysmal season, and the time to sell may come sooner rather than later for the last-place team.

MLB insider Peter Gammons reported the Reds are "willing to talk" about potentially trading starting pitchers Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle. Castillo is the headliner and one of the few players on Cincinnati's roster that could be a season-changer for a contender.

Frankly, the Reds started selling before the season even started.

They waived pitcher Wade Miley and traded catcher Tucker Barnhart, pitcher Sonny Gray, infielder Eugenio Suarez, pitcher Amir Garrett and outfielder Jesse Winker. Yet general manager Nick Krall told reporters prior to the campaign he didn't envision trading Castillo or Mahle.

The rough start to the year may have changed the front office's mind, as the 27-year-old Mahle likely won't be a key part of Cincinnati's next contending team and Castillo could net a number of marquee prospects to accelerate the rebuild.

Mahle was solid the last two seasons with an ERA below 4.00, but he has a 6.46 ERA and 1.57 WHIP through his first seven starts in 2022. His value was likely higher before the disappointing start to the year, so Cincinnati may have cost itself in potential negotiations.

As for Castillo, the 29-year-old is under team control until 2024 and wouldn't be a pure rental for any contender looking to improve its starting rotation.

The 2019 All-Star has a career 3.72 ERA and 1.22 WHIP and made his season debut Monday after dealing with shoulder concerns. He allowed three earned runs with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work against the Milwaukee Brewers.

While Reds fans who saw many of the team's notable players shipped away likely won't be thrilled if Castillo joins that list, getting valuable pieces in return before he could leave as a free agent in 2024 may be the best route since the team looks nowhere near contending as currently constructed.         

Cincinnati Reds President Phil Castellini apologized Tuesday after making comments that implied moving the Reds elsewhere to put the franchise in a better position to succeed.

"I apologize to Reds fans and regret the comments that I made earlier today," Castellini said in a statement, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. "We love this city, we love this team, and we love our fans. I understand how our fans feel and I am sorry."

Castellini's comments occurred during a conversation with Scott Sloan and Mo Egger of Cincinnati's News Radio 700WLW.

The Reds have come under fire after parting ways with some of the best players from last year's team, including Nick Castellanos, Eugenio Suarez, Sonny Gray and Jesse Winker. FanGraphs currently projects the Reds to finish with a 75-87 record.

Cincinnati ultimately didn't appear to put the team in position to compete this year, but Castellini asked fans to "show a little faith in us."

When asked about that remark and why fans should keep the faith, Castellini said in part (h/t Fletcher Keel of WLWT 5):

Well, where are you going to go? Let's start there. Sell the team to who? You want to have this debate? If you want to look at what would you do with this team to be more profitable, make more money, compete more in the current economic system that this game exists, it would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. So, be careful what you ask for.

Castellanos, who is now a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, made some remarks about the Cincinnati's rebuild to ESPN's Jesse Rogers.

"What sucks is in a great city like Cincinnati where the fan base is impeccable, it's suffocating," Castellanos said, "because of ownership. I'm not saying that they are bad people. The system is bad."

The Reds have started this year 2-3. They will close out a two-game home series with the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday at 12:35 p.m. ET.

The Seattle Mariners acquired 2021 All-Star Jesse Winker and 2018 All-Star Eugenio Suarez from the Cincinnati Reds on Monday.

Cincinnati will reportedly receive right-hander Justin Dunn, southpaw Brandon Williamson (Mariners' No. 7 prospect, per MLB.com), outfielder Jake Fraley and a player to be named later.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was among the first to report details of the deal.

The cost-cutting in Cincinnati began during the 2021 offseason, with Trevor Bauer leaving as a free agent and Raisel Iglesias getting dealt to the Los Angeles Angels. The process continued this winter as the Reds traded Tucker Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers and waived Wade Miley rather than pick up his $10 million option.

Cincinnati also traded former All-Star Sonny Gray to the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Mariners are also sending a player to be named later to Cincinnati and that the Reds are "high on that player." For now, this deal won't go down well in Southwestern Ohio.

Reminder: the Reds won 83 games last year. If this year's postseason system was in place last year, the Reds would've been in the playoffs.

— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) March 14, 2022

Man, you know what job I wouldn't want to have this week? Reds ticket sales person

— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) March 14, 2022

Winker is coming off his best season, hitting .305/.394/.556 with 24 home runs and 71 RBI in 110 games. That performance led to his first career All-Star selection.

The 28-year-old is eligible for arbitration for two more years, so he isn't merely a short-term rental for Seattle.

Because he spent his career in Cincinnati to this point, Winker's production has flown under the radar a bit. Since debuting in 2017, he's 14th in MLB in wOBA (.379) and 29th in wRC+ (132). While the 2021 season represented a personal best, it wasn't a total outlier.

Winker could have a massive impact in the Pacific Northwest.

The Mariners' late push for a playoff berth fell short, but a 90-72 finish got fans excited for what's to come.

Seattle already acquired Adam Frazier from the San Diego Padres and signed Robbie Ray to a five-year, $115 million prior to the MLB lockout. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has been reasonably aggressive to end a 20-year postseason drought.

A lineup that includes Winker, Frazier, Mitch Haniger, Ty France and J.P. Crawford has real potential. The unit will be truly formidable if Suarez rebounds and Jarred Kelenic takes a step forward in his development.

With the franchise's shifting priorities, Suarez was an obvious candidate to go in Cincinnati since he'll earn $11 million annually over the next three seasons.

The eight-year veteran struggled on offense last season, sending his trade value downward. He finished with 31 home runs and 79 RBI but registered 171 strikeouts and a .198/.286/.428 slash line. That was the continuation of an ongoing trend.

Suarez appeared in 57 games in 2020 and posted a .202/.312/.470 slash line. He also hit 15 homers while driving in 38 runs. His 189 strikeouts were MLB's highest in 2019, and he was whiffing at an even higher rate (29 percent) in the abbreviated 2020 campaign, per FanGraphs.

The 30-year-old can reasonably argue bad luck played a factor in his poor performance at the plate in 2020. His .214 batting average on balls in play was nearly 100 points lower than his career mark (.310) at the time.

Perhaps Suarez would have righted the ship in a traditional 162-game campaign. He had an .883 OPS over 23 games across September, per Baseball Reference. Some of his outlying numbers provided reason for optimism in 2021 too.

According to Baseball Savant, Suarez had a 13.8 percent barrel rate in 2019. That number ticked upward slightly in 2020 (14.4 percent). His hard-hit rate improved from 40.8 percent to 44.7 percent. His expected averages, on the other hand, told a more concerning story:

• 2018: .280 XBA, .522 XSLG, .377 WOBA, .381 XWOBA
• 2019: .251 XBA, .509 XSLG, .381 WOBA, .361 XWOBA
• 2020: .218 XBA, .475 XSLG, .326 WOBA, .328 XWOBA

There was no such turnaround in 2021. His .215 expected batting average ranked in the fifth percentile, and his weighted on-base average fell to .306.

Buying low on Suarez is a sensible gamble for the Mariners. There seemingly isn't anywhere for his performance to go but up. He'll probably continue to strike out a lot, but his batting average and slugging percentage will surely regress to the mean. Perhaps a scenery change can accelerate the process.

Should his production fail to improve, however, that $33 million he's still owed will quickly become a significant sunk cost.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Amir Garrett returned to Twitter on Wednesday with a message explaining why he deactivated his account in the first place.

He said he didn't deactivate it because he couldn't handle criticism for his performance on the field but rather because he "would read awful things" such as "people wishing death upon my unborn child along with my pregnant wife. Unimaginable dm's spewing hate and stomach wrenching messages."

Hello Twitter world… pic.twitter.com/yeXQ88uJSm

— CountOnAG (@Amir_Garrett) December 22, 2021

Garrett announced the birth of his daughter, Koa Mae Garrett, in July.

On the field, the southpaw had the worst statistical year of his career since he was a rookie in 2017. He posted a 6.04 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 61 strikeouts in 47.2 innings during the 2021 season, which was a far cry from his 2.45 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in the shortened 2020 campaign.

It is not a stretch to suggest Reds fans reacted poorly to his on-field struggles and sent some of the hateful messages that caused him to deactivate his account.

Garrett is also someone who has not hesitated to mix it up with division rivals in the past.

There was the back-and-forth with then-Chicago Cubs shortstop Javy Baez that included a benches-clearing incident that resulted in Garrett being suspended and a taunting incident that led to a fine for Baez. The relief pitcher also famously charged the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout and fought seemingly the entire team in 2019.

Perhaps Cubs and Pirates fans were also among those responsible for the vitriol.

For his part, Garrett wished the "keyboard tough guys" well and suggested everyone should "protect your peace."

After making several big splashes in free agency, the Texas Rangers may look to the trade market to continue upgrading their roster.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Rangers have contacted the Cincinnati Reds about acquiring a starting pitcher from the trio of Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle.

The Rangers have been the surprise team of the offseason. They have spent $561.2 million on reported agreements with Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Kole Calhoun and Jon Gray.

Top 10 $ committed to free agents so far:

Texas: $561.2 million
New York Mets: $254 million
Toronto: $121 million
Seattle: $115 million
Detroit: $77 million
Houston: $67 million
Miami: $53 million
Los Angeles Angels: $45 million
St. Louis: $44 million
San Francisco: $36 million

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 29, 2021

After reporting Semien's seven-year, $175 million deal, ESPN's Jeff Passan noted the Rangers "aren't done" and "went into this winter with money to spend."

The agreements with Seager and Gray followed suit, but it still doesn't appear as if Texas' front office is standing down.

The Reds apparently came into this offseason with the goal of cutting payroll. General manager Nick Krall told reporters Nov. 3 after trading catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers that they "must align our payroll to our resources and continue focusing on scouting and developing young talent from within our system."

Per Spotrac, Gray is the Reds' fourth-highest-paid player in 2022 with a base salary of $10.4 million. Castillo and Mahle are both entering their second year of arbitration with projected salaries of $7.5 million and $5.5 million, respectively, for next season. 

Mahle is the youngest of that group at 27 years old. He led Reds starters with 210 strikeouts and ranked second with a 3.75 ERA. Castillo tied for the MLB lead with 33 starts and posted a 3.98 ERA in 187.2 innings.

Gray posted his highest ERA (4.19) since 2018, but he averaged more than 10 strikeouts per nine innings for the third consecutive season.

The Rangers' moves suggest a strong desire to improve after finishing last in the American League West with a 60-102 record. Adding more help to their starting rotation would go a long way toward making them competitive in a loaded division with the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics.   

While free agency has been the main focus in Major League Baseball this offseason and blockbuster deals are being signed by some of the sport's best and brightest, there are some teams opting to build through trades as they recognize players from other organizations can help improve key positions in their own.

The Los Angeles Angels appear to be one such team as they eye Cincinnati Reds starter Luis Castillo. The Baltimore Orioles, on the other hand, are sellers and could be looking to offload the one player who showed up and showed out for the team in 2021.

                

Angels Looking to Strengthen Bullpen with Reds' Luis Castillo

MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported that the Angels are interested in acquiring Reds pitcher Luis Castillo. The asking price is high and the teams remain far apart, though.

It is somewhat surprising that Cincinnati is even listening to offers for Castillo considering ESPN's Buster Olney reported as recently as Tuesday that both the pitcher and Tyler Mahle are considered "off-limits" but that other starter Sonny Gray is available.

The team is in the midst of cutting costs, though, so when another club comes asking about a player, they at least owe it to themselves to listen. Even if they have no intention of letting him go.

For the Angels, signing Castillo would be a positive on several fronts.

They would get a strong starter to strengthen their lineup. Acquiring him would mean picking up a contract with two years of club control at a relatively inexpensive amount of $7.6 million this winter. Beyond that, the low price and short-term nature of the deal mean the team could still conceivably enter a bidding war for a top-tier pitcher still on the market.

He would also join a rotation that added Noah Syndergaard earlier this offseason.

The only potential negative of dealing for Castillo would be whatever Cincinnati would want in return.

The club isn't going to let its best pitcher walk away in a one-sided trade. The Reds will look toward the future and want prospects—a lot of them—in return. Not just developmental players, either. The Reds will have eyes on competing in their division and were a tough out for many teams a season ago. They will expect a player or two to be able to step in and contribute right away.

The interest is reportedly there, though, and it appears it will come down to whether the West Coast squad is able to come up with a package that entices the Reds to deal and if it is willing to mortgage the future to bring Castillo into the fold.

               

Baltimore Open to Listening to Offers for Cedric Mullins

The Orioles are listening to offers for All-Star Cedric Mullins, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

"Word has gotten out that the Orioles would listen on star CF Cedric Mullins, and teams are lining up to give it a shot knowing it's a long shot," Heyman said. "Asking price is understandably extremely high. All these teams (and more) could use a CF: Philly, Rangers, Astros, Giants, Mets, Yanks."

O's fans are used to their team developing players who then walk away, either via free agency or trades, so the idea that the organization would be dangling a player in the hopes of picking up affordable veterans or unproven young talent in return is not that surprising.

What is, though, is that the team would listen to offers for Mullins, who came from nowhere in 2021 to win a Silver Slugger Award, appear in the All-Star Game and garner MVP support at the end of the season. In another dismal season for Charm City's favorite birds, he was a silver lining.

His 30 home runs, 59 RBI, 30 stolen bases and .360 on-base percentage helped keep the Orioles in games they had no business being competitive in. How much did he mean to the team's win-loss record? He possesses a Wins Above Replacement number of 5.7, meaning he alone was worth nearly six wins to the organization.

Mullins did everything but pitch for the Orioles in 2021, and regardless of how steep the asking price is, the idea that the team would even think about listening to offers has to be deflating to a fanbase that has watched its team let its best players walk away far too often.

If Mullins can catch lightning in a bottle and replicate last season's numbers, he would benefit any of the teams Heyman mentioned as potential suitors. The Orioles, though, owe it to their loyal fans to hold on to the center fielder and let him star at Camden Yards for as long as it can.

As the Los Angeles Angels continue to explore ways to upgrade their starting rotation, they are reportedly looking at Cincinnati Reds ace Luis Castillo in a potential trade.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Angels and Reds have had preliminary talks about Castillo, but they are "far apart" in talks because the asking price by Cincinnati is "very high."

Earlier this month, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Castillo is "doubtful to be moved."

The Angels have been aggressively pursuing upgrades in their starting rotation this offseason. They already signed Noah Syndergaard to a one-year, $21 million deal.

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the Angels are among the teams in on Max Scherzer, who is expected to make a decision before the collective bargaining agreement expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1.

It's unclear what the Reds' asking price for Castillo might entail, nor is there any indication they are seriously looking to deal the 28-year-old.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported last week that Cincinnati was open to moving Sonny Gray but "indicated" to rival executives that Castillo and Tyler Mahle were "off limits."

One potential reason for the Reds to put a high price on Castillo is his contract status. The right-hander has two more years of team control before becoming a free agent.

Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors projects Castillo will earn $7.6 million in arbitration for the 2022 season.

Castillo set a career high with 33 starts in 2021. The Dominican Republic native posted a 3.98 ERA with 192 strikeouts over 187.2 innings. He has posted a 3.60 ERA in 77 starts over the past three seasons combined.

Angels starters ranked 22nd in Major League Baseball in ERA (4.78) and 26th in innings pitched (776.1) last season.   

As teams look to improve their bullpens in search of a pennant, pitchers are beginning to dominate the offseason discussion, with a run at the position.

The Reds and Orioles, though, are in the process of dangling pitchers as trade bait, looking for teams to relieve them of the financial burden and hoping to get picks, prospects or less-expensive veterans in return.

    

Reds Open To Trading Sonny Gray...Again

Cincinnati has put pitcher Sonny Gray on the trading block again, per ESPN's Buster Olney. The report also stated the Reds consider Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle off-limits.

The Reds are said to be open (again) to trading Sonny Gray. But they've indicated to rival execs that Tyler Mahle and Luis Castillo are off limits.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 23, 2021

The team likely considers Gray the most expendable of their three top-tier pitchers. He's the most expensive and entering the final year of his contract at a time when the team is trying to cut spending. He is a solid mid-rotation pitcher who can benefit a team chasing a championship. Earlier in the offseason, the Dodgers reportedly had interest in dealing for the righty but nothing came of it.

Gray is coming off a year in which he netted his highest ERA since 2018 (4.19) and his lowest walk percentage since 2017 (3.33). He allowed 1.26 home runs per nine innings.

Could the Reds get more in return for one of the players they've deemed off-limits? Probably, but Gray is a solid hand and an upgrade at the position for a considerable number of teams.

      

Orioles Dangling John Means In Trade Talks

Olney also reported the Baltimore Orioles are "dangling left-hander John Means for trade."

Other teams say the Orioles are dangling left-hander John Means for trade. He's set to make about $3 million in arbitration, coming off a season in which he pitched great in the 1st half (2.28 ERA) struggled in the 2nd half (4.88) and had shoulder issues. https://t.co/rSQSDncyrZ

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 23, 2021

Means started the 2021 season hot but faltered in the second-half, his ERA rising exponentially from 2.28 to 4.88. That fall off as the season progressed, combined with his eligibility for salary arbitration, which could lead to a hefty raise for the southpaw, makes him a prime candidate for moving.

The question is which Means is the real one?

Is it the pitcher who threw a no-hitter during his first 11 games or the player who allowed six earned runs in the final game of his season, a 10-1 drubbing by the Toronto Blue Jays?

That will be the question teams interested in his services will be faced with.

At his best, Means is a sharp pitcher with good control and a wicked curveball. At his worst, opposing teams took that same curveball and his change-up deep, contributing to the disastrous conclusion to the O's season.

One thing surrounding Means' future is that it does not appear destined to occur in Baltimore.

That is, unless the Orioles cannot find a trade partner.

The Cincinnati Reds are reportedly open to trading starting pitcher Sonny Gray but are keeping Tyler Mahle and Luis Castillo off the market.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported Mahle and Castillo are "off limits" this winter.

Gray's no stranger to the trade block, with rumors swirling around him over the last two seasons. He posted a 7-9 record with a 4.19 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in a disappointing 2021 campaign but remains a name that will generate significant trade buzz.

The Reds owe Gray $10.2 million in base salary for 2022 and have a club option for $12 million in 2023, a number they will almost certainly accept given how vastly Gray has outperformed his deal. Any team that trades for Gray is getting a top-of-the-rotation arm for $22.2 million over two years, making him one of the best veteran bargains in baseball.

Cincinnati is coming off a promising 83-79 season and could choose to keep Gray around if it wants to make a playoff push in 2022. The Reds could easily revisit trade talks next winter or in the season if they fall out of contention. 

Mahle and Castillo are both under team control for 2022 and 2023 before they can hit free agency. Both right-handers are still in their 20s, while Gray turned 32 earlier this month, so that likely explains why he's considered the most expendable of the trio.

It would be a surprise if the Reds didn't broach the topic of new contracts for Mahle and Castillo this offseason. 

Free-agent outfielder Nick Castellanos is reportedly receiving interest from multiple teams on the open market.

According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the San Francisco Giants and Miami Marlins are two of the teams known to be pursuing the 2021 All-Star and Silver Slugger award winner.

The 29-year-old Castellanos has spent the past two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and previously enjoyed stints with the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs.

Free agency comes at an ideal time for Castellanos, as he enjoyed a career year offensively in 2021. His slash line of .309/.362/.576 were all career highs, as were his 34 home runs.

Castellanos also drove in 100 runs and scored 95 runs in only 138 games.

It represented a huge step up for Castellanos, who hit a career-low .225 with 14 homers and 34 RBI in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Castellanos' first true breakout occurred in 2017 with the Tigers when he hit .272 with 26 homers, 101 RBI and an American League-leading 10 triples. He remained productive over the next couple of seasons, but he reached a new level in 2021, earning an All-Star nod for the first time.

Both the Giants and Marlins would benefit greatly from signing Castellanos, although they find themselves in very different positions in the National League.

The Giants are coming off a surprisingly dominant season, as they led Major League Baseball with a 107-55 record and won the NL West, although they fell to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.

Meanwhile, the Marlins finished fourth in the NL East with a 67-95 record and have missed the playoffs in 17 of the past 18 seasons.

The Giants are returning some core offensive players in Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria and Mike Yastrzemski, but catcher Buster Posey announced his retirement and Kris Bryant is a free agent.

San Francisco would conceivably love to re-sign Bryant after he performed so well following his trade to the Giants from the Cubs, but if the Giants are unable to re-sign him, Castellanos could be a quality replacement.

While the Giants are a team poised to contend for a World Series, Castellanos has ties to the Miami area, which could make the Marlins an attractive option as well.

Morosi noted that Castellanos attended Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Florida, which is only about 25 miles from the Marlins' home ballpark.

Legendary New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is now the Marlins' CEO, and he is playing a big role in building the franchise from the ground up.

The Marlins shockingly reached the playoffs in 2020 under Jeter's guidance, and while they took a step back last season, they have a chance to rebound in 2022 thanks largely to a young and talented starting pitching rotation.

Castellanos would be the centerpiece of the offense and give the Marlins some much-needed pop in the middle of the order.