Yankees: 3 Luis Castillo trade packages that don’t include Gleyber Torres

It’s been a crazy 48 hours. The buzz surrounding a New York Yankees-Cincinnati Reds trading involving Luis Castillo has picked up so much steam that the Reds’ general manager had to come out and deny everything.

A few other things we learned? The Yankees aren’t close to a deal for Castillo. The Reds might be keen on keeping the right-hander because he’s their best asset. And during the supposed Yankees-Reds talks, Cincy reportedly asked for Gleyber Torres in exchange for the right-hander. Intriguing, right?

Fans are divided on whether or not they’d do this, but there’s no need to be divided, because the Yankees aren’t going to do it! And that’s all that matters. General manager Brian Cashman is smart enough to know that acquiring a player of Castillo’s caliber to bolster the starting rotation doesn’t mean you go ahead and immediately downgrade at arguably the most important position on the field.

But just because the Yankees allegedly rejected the advances on Torres doesn’t mean the discussions should end there. New York has one of the best farm systems in all of baseball and can very much help the Reds in a multitude of other ways.

Here are three Gleyber Torres-less trade packages for Luis Castillo that should still entice Cincinnati.

3. Gio Urshela, Deivi Garcia, Yoendrys Gomez, Kevin Alcantara and Josh Breaux for Luis Castillo and Eugenio Suarez

We don’t advise this package, but the Yankees and Reds could make it happen.

This is number three for a reason. We don’t necessarily want this to happen, but past reports have suggested the Reds would want to unload one of their bigger long-term contracts with Castillo to shed some salary. OK, so toss in Eugenio Suarez.

Fans aren’t going to like this, but that means Gio Urshela is gone. I know, we don’t want it either, but this isn’t out of the question from Cashman’s perspective. He got Urshela for nothing, so parting ways with him for a No. 2 starter and another All-Star third baseman that costs more money-wise isn’t really a loss. If this is what it takes, then so be it.

But then come the prospects. No. 3 Deivi Garcia, No. 5 Luis Gil and No. 13 Kevin Alcantara will likely have to go. Garcia and Gil give the Reds high upside in the pitching department while Alcantara, a promising 18-year-old outfielder, gives them another potential building block assuming he continues on the expected trajectory.

Here’s the deal: the Reds don’t need a guy like Gleyber Torres, who they’ll have to pay in three years. Their window, if they’re making everyone available, doesn’t align with his prime. Their best bet is prospects, and the Yankees can offer potential cornerstones.

2. Clint Frazier, Clarke Schmidt, Oswald Peraza and Alexander Vizcaino for Luis Castillo

This feels steep, but if the Yankees are solely acquiring Castillo, it’s going to be a lot.

We’ve pitched this one already, but it feels like it needs to be revisited. It’s an offer the Reds really can’t refuse. Yes, it’s an overpay for the Yankees, but this is how they’re treated on the trade market. Get used to it. The Padres give up nothing for Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, the Mets trade meaningless pieces for Francisco Lindor, the Dodgers give the Red Sox spare parts for Mookie Betts, and the Tigers want Gleyber Torres for Matthew Boyd.

The sad reality means Cashman will, at times, just have to deal with the unfair treatment, but when you have a surplus of talent and Castillo is the missing World Series piece, you’ve gotta pull the trigger.

Trading Frazier will hurt, but the Yankees want to bring back Brett Gardner anyway, so just have him and Mike Tauchman split time out there (and maybe Greg Allen? Ugh). The Yankees’ offense will easily survive without Frazier — in fact, it always has. He’s a tremendous bat to have late in the order, but he’s not a necessity.

A young, controllable talent like Frazier, as well as No. 2 prospect Clarke Schmidt, No. 4 prospect Oswald Peraza and No. 9 prospect Alexander Vizcaino gives the Reds a starting outfielder, an MLB-ready pitcher, a top shortstop prospect and a top pitching prospect. What more do you want? None of these guys are mere throw-ins. They’re all highly-rated, talented baseball players.

If the Reds don’t want something like this, then they’re either delusional in terms of what they can get in return for Castillo or their ability to prognosticate their next window of contention is poor.