Yankees rumors: One pitching trade target favored over another big name

The New York Yankees are looking for starting pitching at the trade deadline, and have one player at the top of their priority list.

The first major domino of the 2022 MLB trade deadline fell courtesy of the New York Yankees, as they acquired Kansas City Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi in exchange for three minor league pitchers. Given that they did not surrender any of their Top 15 prospects in the deal, they are likely far from done. The next area of concern is the starting pitching, and they seem to have a priority list.

In MLB insider Jon Heyman’s latest New York Post article, he writes that the Yankees have “cast a wide net for starters” and notes that they are in on Frankie Montas of the Oakland Athletics. Heyman continues, however, saying that Luis Castillo of the Cincinnati Reds “seems to be their first choice.”

Yankees have Luis Castillo ranked over Frankie Montas in trade deadline target rankings

Besides those two, Heyman lists Noah Syndergaard of the Los Angeles Angels as their third option, and Jose Quintana of the Pittsburgh Pirates as being “high on their list.”

During the Athletics’ fire sale ahead of the 2022 season, Montas was viewed as a certified trade deadline acquisition. The thing is, his stock did take a slight hit when he was placed on the injured list earlier this month due to right shoulder inflammation. Even so, he is garnering interest just days ahead of the deadline.

As for Castillo, the Yankees got a firsthand view of what he is capable of when he started against them in the Bronx on July 14. Castillo pitched seven full innings, where he struck out eight batters and allowed just one earned run on two hits in the 7-6 victory.

This season, Castillo recorded a 2.86 ERA, a 1.071 WHIP, 90 strikeouts, and 28 walks over 85.0 innings (14 starts).

The Yankees are no doubt going to have stiff competition for Castillo’s services. But, with the World Series contention window being wide open this season, they have to make a big move for a starter. Whether it is Castillo, Montas, or another name remains to be seen.