The Yankees have claimed utility player Diego Castillo off of waivers from the Mets, the team announced. In a corresponding move, infielder Jeter Downs was designated for assignment.
Castillo, 26, returns to his original organization. The Yankees signed him as an international amateur out of Venezuela but flipped him to the Pirates alongside Hoy Park in the 2021 deadline deal that didn’t work out well for the Bucs. Both Castillo and Park were designated for assignment and traded to new clubs by the end of 2022, while Holmes has turned into the closer for the Yankees.
As for Castillo, he hit .206/.251/.382 in 96 games with the Bucs in 2022 then was traded to the Diamondbacks. The latter club mostly kept him in the minors, putting him into just one major league game. In 124 Triple-A contests, he only hit three home runs but walked more than he struck out, a 17.4% rate of free passes compared to 14.2% for the punchouts. His .313/.431/.410 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 117. He’s had other good Triple-A seasons in that vein, pairing minimal power with strong on-base abilities.
Defensively, Castillo has played all four infield positions and has spent some time in the outfield corners. He can also swipe a bag here and there, stealing 13 with the Reno last year. Despite that solid year with the Aces, he’s been on the transaction carousel this offseason, getting claimed off waivers by the Mets and now the Yankees.
The Yanks project to have an infield of Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe and DJ LeMahieu. The guys on the corners are into their mid-30s now and coming off injury-marred seasons. Volpe had some mixed results but was only 22 and should get a chance to continue his development. Torres is solid at the keystone but is in his final year of club control before reaching free agency. Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Jorbit Vivas are also on the 40-man but the club continues to focus on the depth. They recently signed Kevin Smith, Josh VanMeter and José Rojas to minor league deals and have now added Castillo into the mix. Since Castillo still has an option remaining, he can be kept in the minors as depth until his services as needed at the big league level.
They are also potentially losing one depth infielder in today’s transaction, with Downs no longer on the roster. The 25-year-old is perhaps best known for going from the Dodgers to the Red Sox as part of the return in the deal for Mookie Betts and David Price. Though he was once a top 100 prospect, he hasn’t lived up to that billing thus far. He struggled to establish himself with the Sox and has since gone to the Nationals and Yankees on waiver claims.
Between the Sox and the Nats, he’s only been put into 20 major league games, hitting .182/.260/.273 in those. His work in the minors hasn’t been much better, with a combined slash of .200/.309/.365 over the past three years.
The Yanks, who just claimed him last month, will now have a week to trade him or try to pass him through waivers. Despite the lack of offensive production, he may still garner interest from other clubs. He’s still quite young, has the former prospect pedigree and defensive versatility. He’s lined up at the three infield positions to the left of first base and a brief spell in the outfield. He also has one option year remaining, meaning he doesn’t need to be guaranteed an active roster spot.
Who needs Hader?
try not buying a title
Cashman has taken your advice.
Liberalsteve: Do you now say that to the Astros? Or the Dodgers? Or the Rangers? Or the Cardinals? Or the Red Sox? Or really any other team that picks up top FAs or trades for top tier players?
Or are you just a biased anti-Yankee personality?
Don’t argue with trolls Clip. We’re already in his head. Let it live there. : -)
i agree with this statement
In school I would’ve just stuffed this dummy in a locker…but you’re right L99…
The Red Sox don’t pick up top tier FA’s anymore.
Once a bully, always a bully.
You’re an idiot. That’s not bullying. That’s teaching someone with a big mouth to shut it.
njbirds, I am quite sure Clip has never had a rep as a bully. In fact, he makes me mad by not defending himself a lot of the time he is attacked by morons on here. Pretty random and dubious thing to say, seeing as how 100% of frequent posters (regulars) on here would know it to be utterly BOGUS!
Not us, Joe. We have the unflappable and steady hand and consistency of Holmes and Loisiga. i’m sure we will soon here that the latter will be out for a major portion of the season yet again.
DR if Johnny Lasagna makes it to the all star break I’ll be shocked.
I agree Joe. I hope they are not relying on him, but they seem to every year, and act shocked, when he is in invariably injured for a major portion of it, and spends another portion of it trying to work his way back.
Yes we’re going for it now, Joe! Lol.
Bad Move. The Yankees couldn’t go wrong with a Jeter on the team. I have traded Torres for a Starting Pitcher and have Downs/Pereza win a job in Spring Training
Never thought I’d see the day when the Yankees DFA Jeter.
Does Cashman have a sense of humor? Most who have seen Jeter Downs play in the majors knew he wasn’t deserving a 40 man spot. Thus, this was always in my view going to happen. Thus, was he signed to simply be DFAed? Regardless, I’m hoping Downs signs as a non-roster invitee and earns a spot with some club. I’ll always root for a guy who plays his butt off.
They sent Jeter Downs
I knew we should of traded him, for Pedro & Vlad, when we had the chance to!
We missed our window captain
Astros can now trade Bregman to Yankees to cut some salary.
But Jeter Downs hit .400 last year!
…and OBP was 0.667 – now that’s discipline..
♪Don’t Let Me Down(s)♫
Sounds like Jeter’s down on his luck.
Everybody laugh.
Big Smoke, I laugh not! Though I award you a “like” for effort!
I thought Jeter Downs was a thoroughbred track that Derek had purchased outside Tampa.
There can be few bigger indictments of Downs than the Yankees opting to cut him for Diego Castillo.
That’s funny Lord
Does this effect the Mookie Betts trade still, or are we done with that?
This move closes one loop of the Clay Holmes trade for sure.
I encourage you all to go back and read the comments on the MLBTR article about the Clay Holmes trade. Really funny in 2024, and a lot of familiar names!
Who cares? Betts wanted out. He got his wish. Turn the page.
Raw deal for Jeter “Sent” Downs. Numbers game. Someone has options. And someone doesn’t.
I’m so glad they cut that turd loose.
That’s disrespectful.
Why did the Mets claim him this month in the first place?
Jeter off the Miami now – to follow his hero’s ghostly footsteps
Cashman acquired Jeter Downs just so he could fire Jeter. Bless his heart.
And Jeter goes down down down like a wavier wire player.
Yanks will unlock Diego.
Haha I definitely get a laugh going back to read the comments in the original Park and Castillo for Holmes trade article. It’s great being able to comment on these articles but it definitely puts into focus why dogging every move when it happens is pointless.
If I remember correctly, Park was tearing it up in AAA and us fans couldn’t understand how he didn’t get called up.
I mean I get that, but I think people jump way too quickly. They see the minor league stats and immediately think they are worth more than they are. The Yankees definitely make bad trades, like all teams. But I can’t think of a recent trade that came back to bite us (maybe Montgomery). The FO had a better understanding of these players than anyone else.
Jeter is definitely not Down with this.
Yankees cornering the market on bum infielders.
I would love the Sox to pick up Jeter Downs again and give him a try but I doubt that happens. Breslow feels almost like a carbon copy of Bloom in most of his deals.
Yankees always have problems with the 40 man roster releasing decent players? Is this the case with all teams? Why not increase to 45 MLB
Please don’t bring him back to the Sox .Only One left from that disaster of a trade ( Wong).
Can’t change the past but you can change the future
Not our new GOAT CAPTAIN! I’m not down with this!
Yanks were pissed the Mets took Short.
For a second I liked adding Diego Castillo…until I realized that it was the hitter and not the pitcher Diego Castillo.
Comments on the linked article about the Holmes trade are priceless. A little more humility and uncertainty when judging transactions would serve a lot of people here well.
back to the dodgers? maybe they can fix him
Diego Castillo signed a minor league deal with the Rangers. Maybe, they can claim Diego Castillo now. That would be entertaining.
The Dodgers really knew what they were doing trading Jeter Downs. Wasn’t he at one point a top Dodger prospect?
Bunch of bottom feeders
Jeter Downs sounds like the perfect candidate for the White Sox to pickup and start at shortstop to replace Tim Anderson. That gives you an infield of Vaughn, Lopez, Downs and Moncada. Scary.
Just rattling the trash cans by Hal and the Trashman to excite the fans with deception about Hal’s true intentions during the free agent signings. Yet, Hal can not hear the silent sounds of the fan keeping their money in their pockets.