Yankees trade deadline mishaps re-opened by Luis Castillo

Luis Castillo was a Yankees trade deadline target. In Game 1 of the MLB Wild Card series, he looked like everything New York still needs.

The Seattle Mariners ended their drought, winning their first postseason game 4-0 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday after over two decades without a playoff win.

The shutout win was in large part thanks to the performance of Luis Castillo who pitched 7.1 innings, giving up 6 hits and striking out 5. He threw 108 pitches, 78 of them in the zone for strikes.

The New York Yankees get to sit back and watch the Wild Card round since they earned a first-round bye as the second-best team in the American League, and they should be kicking themselves for not finding a way to land Luis Castillo at the deadline.

Yankees could still use a pitcher like Luis Castillo

The Yankees trade deadline does not look that great. They failed to get the big fish of Juan Soto, who went to the San Diego Padres. Furthermore, they sent out Jordan Montgomery who repeatedly made the Yankees look foolish for doing so.

The Yankees got elite defensive centerfielder Harrison Bader back in that deal which has proven to be a good get, to be fair.

Another pitcher they were rumored to be looking into at the deadline was Luis Castillo. Then a member of the Cincinnati Reds, he put on an elite performance at Yankee Stadium which should have shown them exactly why they needed to get him.

In that game in mid-July, Castillo got a win with 7.1 innings pitched, eight strikeouts and just two hits with one earned run.

Instead, the Mariners landed Castillo. To shore up their starting rotation, the Yankees instead went toward Frankie Montas.

Montas as a Yankee has gone 1-3 in eight starts with an ERA of 6.35. He simply hasn’t worked out to the Yankees’ liking.

While you can’t predict injuries, Montas also won’t even be available for the divisional round:

Feels like Castillo would fit right in with the Yankees needs right now. Nestor Cortes, Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are starting pitching locks. A solid fourth would be great to have. Luis Severino and Domingo German don’t inspire a ton of confidence not for a lack of talent, but just lack of appearances this year. The two combined for 32 starts this season, exactly how many Taillon had on his own.

While it’s unlikely, the Yankees could end up facing the Mariners in the ALCS. In such a nightmare scenario, Castillo could really show the Yankees what they missed out on.