3 trade targets after missing Luis Castillo

The Houston Astros will need to move fast to keep up with the Mariners’ trade for ace Luis Castillo

The Seattle Mariners on Friday night made a stunning trade to acquire the No. 1 starting pitcher in the trade market, Luis Castillo of the Cincinnati Reds.

It was quite a seismic and surprising trade as the Mariners weren’t connected much with Castillo leading up to the deal. In the end, it cost the No. 2 wildcard team a lot to make the playoffs for the first time in 21 years. The Mariners needed a starting pitcher to make the playoffs. They’re just 0.5 games ahead in wild card standings while trailing the Astros by 12 games. These Astros rumors need to happen.

The Astros now realize they will have a team to contend with for the AL West crown, and there may be another strong team in the playoff mix. The Astros still have some significant weaknesses of their own that need to be addressed if they hope to repeat themselves as AL champs. Those needs are a left-handed bullpen arm, a catcher, a 1st baseman, and more depth. The American League is going to be tough for the Astros with the Yankees, Blue Jays and now the Mariners.

MLB rumours: Houston Astros to trade goals after missing out on Luis Castillo

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Tyler meal

starting pitcher Cincinnati Red

So the Astros missed the Reds’ ace pitcher, no reason they can’t get the Reds’ other ace pitcher. This move would prevent another American League team from acquiring a good starting pitcher while adding to the Astros’ amazing depth. You could move Jake Odorizzi to the bullpen. Tyler is under the club’s control until 2023, which covers injury or if Justin Verlander leaves on a free basis.

Don’t be fooled by the baseline values ​​either, Mahle was very good. He may have a poor 4-7 record with a 4.48 ERA. However, he has pitched 98.1 innings and struck out 107. He’s walked just 39 times and given up just 86 hits. His FIP is a much better 3.78 with a 102 ERA+. And that despite playing with a terrible Reds team. He’s been worth 8.1 WAR over the past three years.

During that tenure, he’s served 326 innings from a 3.95 ERA with 377 strikeouts. He’s a dependable #2 or 3 pitcher in a staff. Imagine if the Astros only had to start Framber Valdez and Verlander once in a playoff series. This would make them incredibly difficult to beat, especially in a short playoff streak.