Veteran reliever Diego Castillo has elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Twins last week, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Presumably, he first cleared outright waivers.
Minnesota signed Castillo to a minor league deal during spring training and added him to the big league roster in late May. The former Rays and Mariners righty totaled seven innings out of manager Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen and only yielded two runs, but he issued seven walks in that time as well. He’s pitched well in Triple-A St. Paul, logging 18 innings with a sharp 2.50 ERA, 29.7% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 54.4% grounder rate.
Castillo was hobbled by a trio of shoulder injuries in recent years, which dropped his fastball from the upper 90s to an average of 94.2 mph in an ugly 8 2/3-inning run with the 2023 Mariners. He struggled with Triple-A Tacoma last year as well, prompting the Mariners to remove him from the 40-man roster by passing him through waivers. That granted Castillo the right to elect free agency at season’s end, which he did. He’ll now return to the open market, this time on the heels of a nice Triple-A showing with the Twins and, more importantly, after displaying a rejuvenated fastball that sat at 95.7 mph in his brief big league stint.
Between that reinvigorated fastball, his Triple-A results and an excellent track record from 2018-22, Castillo should find interest on a new minor league deal. (The Twins, conceivably, could look to quickly bring him back on a minor league pact with new terms.) Over parts of five years from ’18-’22 between Tampa Bay and Seattle, the now-30-year-old Castillo recorded a 3.12 ERA (3.38 SIERA) with a 28.1% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate, 50.7% ground-ball rate and 1.07 HR/9. He worked both as a closer and setup man at times along the way, so he’s no stranger to leverage situations.
Castillo also has a pair of minor league options remaining, although he’s just days away from reaching five years of big league service time, at which point he’d need to consent to being optioned. If he does land back on a big league roster and stick, he’ll be controllable through the 2025 season via arbitration.
He will find a home very quick
His name means castle, so he’ll always have a home.
His name does not mean Kielbasa in Spanish?
It definitely means kielbasa in Spanish.
hahaha!!!
Mike Elias has been texting his agent all weekend for sure.
Why not just claim him then prior to him hitting free agency?
One would presume his MLB contract kicked in at a higher salary, and any team will sign him to a minor league deal at a cheaper cost.
I guess that makes sense. But it seems to me you’d rather just get the guy into your beleaguered bullpen at slightly higher cost rather than run the risk he’s claimed or signs elsewhere.
If the Pirates haven’t called yet, it’s because Ben Cherington tripped running to the phone and is laying on the floor just out of the reach of his phone. Then again, I thought that with other relievers only to see Dennis Santana and Ben Heller on the ML roster instead.
But has no problem getting to the phone to trade a guy like Jose Hernandez. He must have had his walking shoes that week.
Orioles need to just give him a locker and a paycheck ASAP. Is Pat Venditte pitching any more? Seems he would have an advantage these days as he has TWO pitching UCLs to sacrifice to the IL monster.
Astros could use him
When he was a Mariner, I saw him pitch quite a bit. His gyrations between pitches were epic. Adjusting everything, twitching, etc. When he faced Altuve, it was hilarious as Altuve, between pitches, was much the same. I actually like the pitch clock because it minimizes that nonsense.
Soon to sign with the Padres.
He will be………………………………………
SAN DIEGO !!
Career could all come together if
He could be paired with a battery mate
With the last name………………………………….
ABBOTT
Just Imagine…
ABBOTT & CASTILLO.
No way of telling………………………..
WHO’S on FIRST ??
Make the call Dombrowski
“The Twins, conceivably, could look to quickly bring him back on a minor league pact with new terms.”
This is a stupid way to write the sentence, but what else is new from the hack known as Steve Adams?
“The Twins could conceivably look to quickly bring him back on a minor league pact with new terms.”
Look at how much better that reads.