MLB trade deadline tracker: Castillo to Seattle, Dodgers nab reliever

The 2022 MLB trade deadline is upon us, and a handful of squads are pursuing new life with meaningful transactions.

This year’s trade deadline is a bit later than usual, as teams have until 6 p.m. ET Aug. 2 to file paperwork to the league’s office to complete trades.

Here are the swaps that have happened so far, along with grades for the bigger transactions from our FOX Sports MLB writers.

July 30: Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Chris Martin from Chicago Cubs 

Key stats: The 6-foot-8 right-hander sports a 1-0 record with a 1.34 WHIP, and a 4.31 ERA in 34 appearances this season. He’s also struck out 30.1% of the 133 batters he’s faced thus far, and walked just four.

Who else was involved? The Cubs received utility man Zach McKinstry in the deal.

Why it matters: The Dodgers’ lineup is one of the most dynamic in baseball, and though the team’s bullpen has the sixth-best ERA in the majors at 3.37, it’s dealt with a number of injuries. Those include setbacks to Blake Treinen and Tommy Kahnle, plus a season-ending ACL tear for Daniel Hudson. Martin’s acquisition adds depth for a team hoping to make another World Series run.

July 29: Seattle Mariners acquire Luis Castillo from Cincinnati Reds

Key stats: At the time of the trade, the 29-year-old Castillo was 4-4 through 14 starts with a 2.86 ERA and 90 strikeouts. He was named an All-Star this season for the second time in his career.

Who else was involved? Noelvi Marte, Levi Stoudt, Edwin Arroyo and Andrew Moore will land with the Reds.

Why it matters: The Mariners own one of the two AL wild card spots as of Friday, and their pitching staff is fifth in the league in ERA and ninth in wins. What’s that mean? They are going for it all by acquiring Castillo.

Mariners trade grade: A++

The Mariners haven’t made the playoffs since 2001. It’s famously the longest drought in American professional sports. This season might be the best chance this franchise has had to end that streak in quite a while.

Acquiring Castillo, easily the top pitcher available at the deadline, is a clear message from Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto: This is the freakin’ year. They gave up quite a haul to get the deal done, but Castillo is a true frontline guy that any team would love to have start Game 2 of a postseason series. He’s been at his rip-roaring best of late, posting a 2.62 ERA in 9 starts since the beginning of June.

This is as close to a “pushing the chips in” moment as we’ve ever seen from this Mariners regime. The Yanks and Rangers were reportedly heavily interested in Castillo and the Ms straight-up outbid them. For a team that’s been vacationing in October for the last two decades, that aggressive approach is a welcome sight.

Reds trade grade: A-

If you accept that the Reds had to trade Castillo (I kind of do, more on that in a moment), then this was a phenomenal package to get back.

Getting a top-10 prospect like Marte is extremely hard to do, even though the top-end talents in the minors right now aren’t at Adley Rutschman/Julio/Bobby Witt Jr. levels anymore. Noelvi is a 20-year-old shortstop with precocious pop who scouts believe has a decent chance to stick at the position. How much he’s able to hit for average, keep his Ks down and get on base will dictate his overall value, but this is a really good prospect.

Arroyo, at least right now, is essentially a younger version of Marte, except slightly worse at everything. His power isn’t quite as good and there’s more doubt about his future defensive home. Stoudt is a small-school 2019 draftee with great command of a fastball/slider combo, but not much else. He likely ends up as a solid bullpen arm. Moore throws really hard and walks a lot of guys, so he’s the biggest flyer of the group.

Considering where the Reds are right now as a franchise getting a package like this back for Castillo looks great. They leveraged a few teams against one another and squeezed out as much talent as they could. 

But my problem is the assumption that the Reds had to do this move. Based upon where they are as a franchise — bad right now, probably bad next year too — this move makes sense. But Cincy is in a bad situation entirely of its own making. Last year this club had a real chance at a wild card spot and fell just short. But instead of improving their roster and running it back, ownership slashed payroll, dealt away a cadre of talented dudes and now the team stinks. Castillo could have been the ace of a team fighting for a postseason birth — I guess now he will — instead of a valuable trade chip. The Reds did well here, but that they were in this spot to begin with is a shame. —Jake Mintz

July 27: New York Yankees acquire Andrew Benintendi from the Kansas City Royals

Key stats: Through 93 games, Benintendi was hitting .320/.387/.398 (.785 OPS), with three home runs and 39 RBIs. 

Who else was involved? The Royals acquired three pitching prospects in TJ Sikkema, Chandler Champlain and Beck Way.

Yankees trade grade: A-

“Benintendi has established himself as a high-contact, slightly above-average hitter with a good walk rate and middling power who can provide sufficient defense in a corner-outfield spot. More solid than spectacular this season despite an All-Star selection a few weeks ago, Benintendi will provide the Yankees’ lineup with a somewhat different look upon his arrival. He’s not a game-changing, season-altering player by any means, but there’s real value in having a high-contact, left-handed stick, especially with Giancarlo Stanton hitting the IL this week.” — Jake Mintz

Royals trade grade: B+

“With Benintendi due to hit free agency this winter, it makes complete sense that the Royals dealt him to a contender for a trio of pitching prospects: TJ Sikkema, Chandler Champlain and Beck Way. None of these three is a paradigm-shifting talent, but there’s a good chance at least one of them becomes a solid big-league contributor.” — Mintz

Yankees trade for Andrew Benintendi

Ben Verlander discusses what the New York Yankees’ trade for Andrew Benintendi means for the team.

July 23: New York Mets acquire Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates

Key stats: At the time of the trade, Vogelbach was batting .228 with 12 home runs, a .769 OPS and a 117 OPS+ this season. He was batting .260 with all of his homers, an .896 OPS and a 153 OPS+ against righties.

Who else was involved? The Mets added much-needed DH help after acquiring left-handed-hitting slugger Vogelbach for rookie reliever Colin Holderman.

Why it matters: In 124 plate appearances at the time of the trade, lefty Mets DHs were batting .152 with a .458 OPS — the lowest of any team with 50 plate appearances by lefty DHs — and just one home run.

June 27: Seattle Mariners acquire Carlos Santana from Kansas City Royals

Key stats: Santana was hitting .216/.349/.341 (.690 OPS) with four homers and 21 RBIs in 52 games at the time of the trade.

Who else was involved? Seattle added the veteran DH/1B by dealing right-handed pitchers Wyatt Mills and William Fleming to the Royals.

Stay tuned for more updates.