9 trade targets from the Cincinnati Reds for the Colorado Rockies

Cincinnati Reds starter Luis Castillo would be a great rotation option for the Colorado Rockies

Cincinnati Reds starter Luis Castillo has been one of the best starting pitchers in the last three seasons but there have been plenty of rumors surrounding him this offseason. He would be a perfect fit for the Colorado Rockies

Castillo, 29, did not get much run support from the Redlegs’ offense as led the NL in losses with 16 despite a sub-4.00 ERA. He had a 3.98 ERA in a league-leading 33 starts with an ERA+ of 120. He had a FIP of 3.75, a WHIP of 1.364, an average of 3.6 walks and 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings, and a rWAR of 4.7.

He made 12 starts in the shortened 2020 season and he had a 3.21 ERA with a 2.65 FIP, a 153 ERA+, a 1.229 WHIP, and an average of 3.1 walks and 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings.

In 2019, he made 32 starts and he had a 3.40 ERA (137 ERA+) with a 3.70 FIP, a 1.143 WHIP, and he averaged 3.7 walks and 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings. He was an All-Star in 2019 as well.

The thing that would make him attractive for the Rockies. As Rockies fans know, the Rockies have made themselves a decent rotation in recent years out of having pitchers that have high groundball rates. The Rockies had three in the top 17 in the last three seasons among starters with at least 300 innings pitched. Luis Castillo has the second-highest groundball rate in that same span at 56.4 percent. For comparison, the highest on the Rockies was Antonio Senzatela at 52.1 percent

Castillo has two years left before free agency, at least with the current CBA.