The Reds sent SP Luis Castillo to Seattle in what feels like the first real trade of the deadline rush even though it wasn’t. It’s hard to hate this deal from either side. Cincinnati lands a prospect package the prospect people will promise they should be happy about. Seattle gets the kind of pitcher that makes you a pain in the playoffs. Pretty easy to see who wins the deal over the next couple seasons, and it’s not the team hoping to compete someday somewhere over the rainbow.
I realize all the metrics and maybe even the Matrix says the Reds did great here, but great pitching is rare, and it’s only in the context of having a dumpy team that it makes any sense to trade a great pitcher. It’s fine to say they did okay in the context of accepting their fate as a dumpy team. It’s weird to do a touchdown dance about getting demonstrably worse for the foreseeable future. How did we get here? Is this my house? How do the days go by? I should look up the lyrics for that song but feel protected if I’m just half-remembering here, sort of how I half-remember the steps leading us to the place where we think it’s cool to trade aces for teenagers. I can see myself listening to Moneyball on audio book while playing Madden and/or The Show in between summer shifts at the Chestaurant (not its name). Holy shizz did I have to learn a lot that summer. From lobster to fajitas to fried chicken to scallops to shrimp. Luckily I knew grilled meat already, I guess, though I don’t think I worked the grill much, bouncing instead among tasks I could barely manage. If you’ve seen The Bear, that was basically me minus all the food talent and work ethic and backstory. My brother did work the expo window, for what it’s Wuertz, along with doing pretty much everything else that needed done in the place.
Anyway, Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo get a nice little value boost moving out of Seattle and into the Smallpark, potentially.
Luis Castillo gets a chance to go nuclear down the stretch and make himself an obscenely wealthy man after the 2023 season.
Reds fans seem incredibly happy with the deal on Twitter, which is probably not a great proxy for people who actually buy tickets to see the team but is one reason we see so much of this.
The club also traded Tyler Naquin, which opens up some at bats for *checks notes* Jake Fraley. That can’t be right. Meh, that’ll sort itself out. Stuart Fairchild is a good bet. Or, a bet, anyway. We’ll probably see Donovan Solano in a full-time capacity from here on out. He’s slashing .330/.379/.479 in 28 games. That’ll play.
Mets 2B Hector Rodriguez (18, A) went to Cincinnati in this Naquin deal along with RHP Jose Acuna (19, A), and I do think the Reds did well on this one. I’m typically on the side of whoever adds major league talent, but no offense to Naquin; he’s unlikely to be missed in the long run. Could say the same about Rodriguez and Acuna given their age, but Rodriguez was sizzling at the complex despite being young for level, and Acuna is generating similar good-for-his-age outcomes due largely to a plus fastball.
The Cubs acquired 2B Zach McKinstry from the Dodgers on Saturday in return for RP Chris Martin. Makes sense for both sides. McKinstry is a man of many gloves and could quickly command a healthy portion of playing time mixing in all around the diamond. He was slashing .335/.417/.487 with four home runs and zero stolen bases in 48 games at Triple-A. His most impressive stat is the BB/K ratio of 12.1 percent to 14.8 percent. It’s a gamble for the Cubs in the sense that the clock is ticking until they’ll have to decide how to handle him in the coming 40-man crunch this winter. Or even the 40-man crunch coming next week. He’s the guy the Dodgers want to trade right now for that same reason, and that leads to kind of a snap reaction to pass and ask for something they don’t want to trade, but that doesn’t always yield the best result, in my opinion.
Dynasty leagues are much different than running a real team, I realize, but hooking up with a motivated seller is not a bad plan, especially if they’re a team like the Dodgers that tends to be successful. The players they can no longer fit on the 40-man roster because they can’t bounce them on and off the 26-man roster are better than that same type of player on the fringes of just about every other team. They take on some risk deciding he’s expendable for relief help, knowing they might well be right that he’ll become a quality big league regular after they invested seven years of developmental resources and time to his growth.
With McKinstry on the way out, the Dodgers promoted stash list mainstay OF James Outman to pick up some plate appearances. Outman has 21 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 90 games between Double and Triple-A this year and could help in deep leagues if the Dodgers give him the chance to do so. I’d probably check for OF Trayce Thompson while I’m looking.
Also on Saturday, Arizona traded David Peralta to Tampa, which leaves a Corbin Carroll sized hole in their outfield. Trouble is it’s also a Stone Garrett sized hole. And a Dominic Fletcher sized hole. Man, I need to get away from this sentence structure. Way too many holes. Which is kind of like the Arizona roster insofar as pushing Corbin Carroll’s timeline is concerned. Smart money says Carroll breaks camp with the big club next year and debuts on Opening Day. Would also be smart money to lay a buck or two on whoever gets the first chance at this gig. Both these outfielders have plenty of talent.
A few post-script notes about some guys to consider.
Ronan Kopp is a remake of a car chase film starring Robert DeNiro, I think, and it’s also the name of a 6’7” 250 lb 19-year-old left-handed Dodger who’s been going deeper and deeper like he’s trying out to become a member of The Seven. He brings his fair share of reliever risk, but the plan to stretch him to start is going well in Low A, where Kopp threw four shutout innings on July 24, extending his scoreless streak to 18.2 innings across six outings during which he’s struck out 30 batters, walked nine and allowed seven hits. He features a high-nineties fastball and wipeout slider that makes for a dumpy day when you’re a Low A hitter just trying to get some reps.
Yankees RHP Luis Serna turned 18 on July 20th and has allowed just one earned run in 24.1 innings pitched in the Florida Complex League, where he’s been four years younger than his average-aged competitor. Serna is listed at 5’11” 162 lbs, and his longest outing this season was 4.1 innings, so we’ve obviously got a long way to go here, but you can only knock down the pins in front of you.
Marlins 3B Charles Leblanc intrigues me. He’s a 26-year-old, right-handed French-Canadian who brings plenty of power but also some swing and miss and little margin for error given the defensive profile, but he’s got a good eye and is learning to use that to his advantage year over year. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him carve out a post-deadline role for himself.
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