Yankees reportedly reject Gleyber Torres for Luis Castillo trade proposal

The Yankees are coming off a huge weekend, but that hasn’t kept further rumors from swirling. Reports flew around Sunday that the Yankees and Reds had been in contact regarding Luis Castillo. The talented right-hander has been linked to the Yankees before, and with the Bombers’ rotation still lacking depth, it’s no surprise they’d still be interested in Castillo.

Pitchers of Castillo’s caliber don’t grow on trees, however, and the Reds understandably would require a strong package of young major leaguers or prospects to move him. Consequently, the Reds reportedly asked the Yankees for Gleyber Torres in exchange for Castillo, per Jon Heyman.

This is obviously a nonstarter. At best, trading Torres would represent robbing Peter to pay Paul, plugging a hole in the rotation by springing a leak in the infield. At worst, a Torres for Castillo trade could simply make the Yankees worse, now and in the future. Torres is every bit as talented as Castillo, and is younger and further from free agency.

The Reds of course have every right to shoot for the moon in trade talks involving their ace. Just don’t expect those talks to lead to Torres exiting New York any time soon. We’ll see if the Yankees’ rebuttal of any advances on their stud shortstop mark the end of negotiations between New York and Cincinnati, or if the two sides re-engage on other fronts.