I’m not against including Garcia as well. But Reds fans seem to think they’re getting Dominguez or even Gleyber Torres. To that I say “Not a chance.” Also I think it’s funny how Frazier is a “bust” and a “liability” in the outfield after the season he’s had. His bat has always played at the major league level and he vastly improved his defense this past season. I would much rather have Frazier in LF than Castellanos and his contract, but you have to give for a pitcher of Castillo’s pedigree. I don’t think the trade proposal here is as wild as you think. I understand you don’t want to lose Castillo, but his value only goes down from here on out with every year of control that goes away. Either the Reds trade him now when his value is highest, or wait and trade him for a fraction of his highest value.

Appreciate the thumbs up. I definitely believe Torres and Dominguez are untouchables, and I feel as if the Yankees view them both that way. For the record, I don’t think a deal comes to fruition for these two clubs. I feel as if the Yankees will end up going after Kyle Hendricks or Joe Musgrove instead, as the Reds likely want Dominguez or Torres. Anyways, I enjoyed debating this trade scenario with you. Good luck to your Reds this season. I have an uncle who is a Reds fan, so I tend to pull for them whenever they aren’t playing the Yankees.

Krall basically had to after MLB.com posted this ridiculous article - https://www.mlb.com/news/luis-castillo-trade-fits. I added up the value of all the Yankee players mentioned as forming the basis of a trade package and the value wasn't even 1/3 of Castillo's value. Plus, the rumors that Frazier and Andujar alone were worth Castillo... Just ridiculous. But that's how the national media views the Yankees and small teams. The small teams exist just to serve the big teams. Anyway, as for the above trade proposal, I don't view it nearly as harshly as Ghost does, if you assume two things: (1) the Reds are not competing this year, and (2) the Reds want to maximize Castillo's overall trade value. I can't answer the first question, as the Iglesias trade suggested to me that the Reds weren't competing, but Reds fans say otherwise. As a Rays fan though, I can tell you that addressing #2 is difficult. When you have a pitcher valued at over $100M, trading him is damn near impossible. Few teams can (or want to) part with that much trade value for one player. The Rays went through the same thing with Archer a few years back. It was over a year before his value fell enough for them to trade him. But boy was that trade awesome. Meadows, Glasnow and Baz... oh my! The Reds could look to acquire something like the package outlined above, and then look to immediately part with players they don't really like or need, or they can hold out for a package of lesser overall value but higher quality pieces. The second option is the Rays' way, and what I would expect for the Reds. Drilling down specifically on the above trade proposal - Personally, I think Frazier's upside is limited. Steamer projects him as a below .800 OPS player with average defense, which is the profile of a 4th outfielder for many teams. Montgomery is a #2-3 pitcher in a poor system, which is what the Reds' rotation would be with the loss of both Bauer and Castillo. He's not a bad pitcher to have, but with little upside, he's a steep fall from Castillo. Schmidt and Peraza seem like fine prospects to me, but neither is viewed in the truly upper echelon of prospects. They are decent enough and could develop into top players for the Reds, and for what it's worth, I prefer Schmidt to Garcia (he's rated higher by some services and I just don't believe a 5'9 pitcher is going to hold up over the course of a full season). Still, this package seems underwhelming to me too, all the more so when compared to the Snell trade. So at the end of the day, if this is the best the Yankees are willing to offer, I'd pass if I were the Reds. Quality is always better than quantity.