No wonder the rumors that Luis Castillo trade with the Yankees is not taking place.
In exchange for Castillo, the Reds asked for Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres and more, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported on Monday.
The internet has been buzzing over the weekend with erroneous reports of a trade in which Castillo, the star pitcher of the Reds, went to the Yankees for Clint Frazier and Miguel Andujar. But Reds general manager Nick Krall firmly denied the reports and even addressed them publicly.
“[The rumors] are not true at all, ”Krall wrote in a text to MLB.com. “We intend to have [Castillo] as a member of our rotation for 2021. “
Landing Castillo, the 28-year-old right-hander who was an All-Star in 2019 and has posted a 3.62 ERA for the past four years, would have been a big shot in the arm for the rotation of the Yankees. But not at the expense of Torres, the 24-year-old who was an All-Star in 2018 and 2019.
Torres had a tough 2020, with his batting average (.243) and OPS (.724) during the shortened season. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told YES Network in December that Torres had failed to report in “the best shape” to the second spring practice, believing it took him 40 to 45 games to find his form.
While Cashman also acknowledged that Torres may be better suited to play second base, Torres is expected to remain in the short stop after the Yankees agreed last week to re-sign DJ LeMahieu on a six-year, $ 90 million contract.