Dodgers might be getting bumped out of Luis Castillo trade talks with Reds

It wasn’t too long ago that it appeared as if the Los Angeles Dodgers might be patching up their starting rotation with a couple of trade acquisitions right before the expected lockout. But LA may have waited too long.

According to the buzz coming out of the General Managers Meetings a couple weeks ago, the Dodgers had spoken to the Cincinnati Reds about starters Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray, which we can assume was part of their plan to make up for Max Scherzer’s eventual departure, Dustin May’s late 2022 return, and the question marks surrounding Clayton Kershaw.

Since then, though? We haven’t heard much on that front. In fact, a number have other teams have engaged with the Reds on the same topic. Are the Dodgers losing ground here? Are they completely out of the picture?

The CBA expires on Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. PST, so Andrew Friedman and Co. are running out of time. Their only addition has been Daniel Hudson after they lost Scherzer and Corey Seager.

What’s going on with the Dodgers-Reds trade talks/rumors?

This coming to fruition surely would’ve alleviated a lot of the Dodgers’ problems and fans’ fears. It’s not that there’s a lack of trust in the organization to make up for what’s been lost … it’s just that there’s only a finite amount of time before we’re mired in a lockout, waiting for the frenzy to take place the moment a new CBA is agreed upon. And a lot of other teams will be in that same boat.

The Rangers, who’ve already swiped Seager from the Dodgers, are involved here, and they have a lot of prospect capital at their disposal and plenty of money to spend. The Angels, who missed out on Scherzer and added Noah Syndergaard, are reportedly leading the way in the Castillo talks with the Reds in their quest to further bolster their starting rotation. Both of these teams are more desperate for pitching help than the Dodgers are, which is likely fostering a bidding war.

Reality is starting to sink in. And it’ll certainly be hard for fans to cope should the lockout commence without the Dodgers having made a notable splash to address what’s feeling like a roster that’s becoming more and more hollow by the hour (Max Muncy’s injury update didn’t help matters, either).

Coming in at the buzzer with a Castillo trade and Freddie Freeman signing would be a necessary hammer drop after the way 2021 ended.

Dodgers reportedly talking multi-pitcher trade with Reds

The Los Angeles Dodgers are already getting ahead in an attempt to re-make their starting rotation, and they have the Cincinnati Reds on the phone.