Luis Castillo pitches a gem in his potential last game with the Reds

When Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo left the game at the end of the seventh inning on Wednesday night, it could have just been another moment in his All-Star season.

If the Reds hadn’t cut payroll in 2020 and 2021, dismantled the core of a playoff team and failed to replace the five All-Stars that the Reds had lost, Castillo’s start against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday wouldn’t have carried any unusual significance.

Instead, it was possibly the last time he put on a Reds uniform.

As the Reds beat the Miami Marlins, 5-3, Castillo pitched a gem. He threw seven innings, allowed three runs and struck out eight batters. In his final start before the trade deadline, Castillo continued the best season of his six-year career.

"Obviously I would want to be in a Reds uniform for the rest of my life," Castillo said via interpreter Jorge Merlos. "But baseball is a business. You have to keep going with what you’re told to do."

He ended the night by striking out three straight batters to get out of a jam in the seventh. With the Reds up by two runs, no outs and two runners in scoring position, Castillo struck out three straight batters to end the inning.

After Marlins shortstop Joey Wendle whiffed at Castillo’s 92nd pitch of the game, Castillo struck a pose and pumped his fist. Castillo walked slowly back to the dugout, took off his hat and pointed to the sky.

Reds shortstop Kyle Farmer ran over to pat Castillo on the back. When he reached the dugout, Reds starting pitcher Tyler Mahle was one of several players who ran up to give him a hug. Castillo had a long conversation with Reds manager David Bell, and they both smiled as Castillo officially learned his night was over.

It felt like the end of a six-year Reds career.

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"The last inning he pitched, I was just kind of congratulating him on getting out of the inning," Farmer said. "And then I was like, 'Oh, wow.' I saw the standing ovation and thought this could be the last time we see him at home. I've enjoyed my time my past three years playing behind him. Who knows what's going to happen, but just really thankful that I've gotten to know him and play behind him."

Castillo has said that he has loved playing in Cincinnati, and ownership feels just as strongly about Castillo. When Castillo was named an All-Star, Reds owner Bob Castellini sat in on Castillo’s press conference. Afterward, Castellini told the media how much he has enjoyed watching Castillo’s development into one of the best pitchers in the National League.

"Really it’s up to the decisions upstairs whatever happens," Castillo said. "It doesn’t change anything for me going out to the mound. You’ll still get the same La Piedra every time I go out there."

That doesn’t change the fact that it makes sense for the Reds to trade a 29-year-old pitcher in his prime, so Castillo’s future might not be with the Reds organization. He has paid attention to the trade rumors that have followed him since the offseason, and Castillo has been bracing for the possibility that his days with the Reds are numbered.

Even though Castillo has another year of team control for the 2023 season. If the Reds wanted to, they could give him a contract extension that would cover the prime of his career.

That just doesn’t make sense for a small market team with a flawed big league roster that’s lacking in depth. It doesn’t make sense for an organization building toward a contention window that might not open until 2024.

Castillo debuted with the Reds in 2017 as a mid-tier prospect with a changeup and a sinker that gave him some upside. Six years later, Castillo was using those pitches at a high level to blow past Marlins batters, but his fastball has arguably surpassed those pitches as the best tool in Castillo’s arsenal.

Castillo ended the first inning by getting a swing-and-miss on a 98 mph fastball at the top of the strike zone. He ended the second inning the exact same way. It wasn’t quite the same way he got outs in the first half of his career, but it’s working better than ever as Castillo continues the most dominant stretch of his career.

"I felt like he made several adjustments throughout the game," Bell said. "Throughout the game, I think the easier outs where he just made pitches, trusted it and didn’t have to have strikeouts really did help him. He just did what he had to do to put up a great start."

The Reds offense spotted Castillo a four-run lead on RBI doubles to left field from shortstop Kyle Farmer and designated hitter Donovan Solano, as well as an RBI single by right fielder Matt Reynolds.

Castillo pitched with a lead the rest of the way, making one final curtain call before the trade deadline. He allowed two solo homers but was as efficient as he has been all year, averaging 11 pitches per inning through the fifth.

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Then in the seventh, Castillo had to get out of one last jam before the deadline. With runners on second and third base in a two-run game, Castillo started with a strikeout using his slider. Then he struck out another batter with his slider. He ended it by getting Wendle to swing and miss at a changeup below his knees.

Castillo left the game to a standing ovation from the crowd of 11,387. One fan carried a sign that said “Gracias, La Piedra.”

"We don’t know what’s going to happen next," Castillo said. "But we did our job today."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Luis Castillo makes one last start for the Reds through trade rumors