LA Angels are frontrunners for most coveted starting pitcher on trade block

The Cincinnati Reds have been rumored as willing to trade Luis Castillo, and the LA Angels have been rumored to be interested.

The most realistic package for both parties has been seen as one that includes Brandon Marsh, so it's understandable as to why they haven't been able to get this done yet. That's a big price to pay, even with Castillo being the type of pitcher he is.

Recently, however, the rumors sparked up again. Some interesting stuff on Castillo has resurfaced, and the Angels are involved.

That's Jon Heyman crediting Jon Morosi for reporting this, and it's interesting to hear that the Angels are still bugging the Reds about this when they are leaning towards keeping the former All-Star. Perhaps the Angels are realizing that their starting pitching options are dropping like flies, and need to look toward the trade market to go acquire that second starting arm they were interested in.

The LA Angels should keep negotiating with the Cincinnati Reds on Luis Castillo.

Again, the LA Angels are not the ones who aren't interested in Luis Castillo. The Reds are the ones pushing back on trading him. Therefore, the Halos clearly have a package that they like.

If that's the case, it probably doesn't include their best prospect in Marsh. Marsh came up to the big leagues last year and showed some impressive flashes offensively, great play defensively, and highlighted the athleticism we knew he had.

We've been developing him since we drafted him in 2016, and need to continue molding him into the All-Star that we know he can be. Marsh never had to be sent back down last year, and is the same guy who hit three triples in just 70 big league games this season.

If we can land Castillo without trading him, I like it. I don't want to trade Jo Adell, either, but he's in a similar boat as Marsh. The Angels are probably pushing a package that doesn't include him, either, if they are still going after Castillo.

I don't think they want to trade him after he just hit 26 RBI in his 35 Major League games this season.

To get Castillo without trading these two would be amazing. Castillo has a lifetime 3.72 ERA in this league (he's been pitching since 2017).

Even in his bad year (this year) when he led the NL in walks (75), he still posted a sub-4 ERA with 9.2 strikeouts per nine innings and a 120 ERA+.

Again, there aren't anywhere near as many starting pitchers available through free agency right now, but they never promised they would only approach starting pitching through free agency. It was also reported that the Angels were also going to look into the trade market for starters. They need to keep pushing for Castillo.