Orioles Acquire Miguel Castro, Designate Joe Gunkel

The Orioles have acquired righty Miguel Castro from the Rockies, per a club announcement. A player to be named or cash will head back in return. To clear a 40-man spot, Baltimore designated righty Joe Gunkel for assignment.

The 22-year-old Castro has long been seen as an intriguing talent, but was designated recently by the Rockies. He made it to the majors in his age-20 season, then was dealt to Colorado as part of the deal that sent franchise star Troy Tulowitzki to the Blue Jays.

While the Rox plugged Castro into the MLB pen in each of his two seasons with the organization, where he showed a 96 mph fastball, the results simply haven’t been there since he arrived. All told, he owns a 6.12 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 through 32 1/3 frames in the majors. Castro was also bombed in the minors last year and during his spring action in 2017.

Adding Castro may mean losing Gunkel, a 25-year-old starter. He spent most of last year at Triple-A, where he worked to a 4.08 ERA with 6.0 K/9 against a meager 1.1 BB/9. Gunkel went to Baltimore in the trade that sent Alejandro De Aza to the Red Sox in June of 2015.