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Orioles Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Orioles announced a series of roster tweaks on Thursday. Baltimore has selected right-hander Anthony Nunez to their 40-man roster. Right-hander Shawn Dubin and outfielders Dylan Carlson and Daniel Johnson have been outrighted off the roster. Left-hander Josh Walker and right-hander Carson Ragsdale were designated for assignment. Baltimore claimed outfielder Pedro Leon off waivers from the Astros, while left-hander Jose Castillo was claimed by the Mets.

The team also exercised its club option on right-hander Andrew Kittredge, whom they acquired from the Cubs earlier this week. The Orioles declined their club option on utilityman Jorge Mateo, who is now a free agent. They also announced the signing of outfielder Leody Taveras, a deal that had been reported yesterday. The litany of moves brought Baltimore’s 40-man roster to 40 players.

Nunez came over at the trade deadline in the Cedric Mullins deal, along with fellow pitching prospects Raimon Gómez and Chandler Marsh. The 24-year-old was originally signed as a shortstop by San Diego in 2019. After a pair of uninspiring seasons at the lowest rungs of the minors, he converted to pitching. The Mets signed Nunez in 2024. He tossed 10 innings between the Complex league and Single-A that season. High-A hitters were no match for Nunez in 2025, as he dominated with a 0.63 ERA and a 46.2% strikeout rate over 14 1/3 innings. Nunez moved to Double-A in May and continued to pitch well, recording a 2.10 ERA over 22 outings. After the trade, he pitched a game for Double-A Chesapeake before heading to Triple-A. Nunez held hitters to a .125 batting average while striking them out at a 32.3% clip over 16 games with Norfolk.

Carlson and Johnson cleared waivers and elected free agency. Dubin also made it through waivers and is a minor league free agent. Carlson is the biggest name of the bunch, but it’s been a while since his days as a top prospect for the Cardinals. Since a strong 2021 campaign with St. Louis, he’s steadily declined at the plate. The 27-year-old bottomed out with a 67 wRC+ over 96 games split between the Cardinals and Rays in 2024. Baltimore took a flyer on him, but he scuffled to a .203/.278/.336 slash line across 241 plate appearances. He’ll now be looking for his fourth team in three seasons.

Johnson has spent parts of four MLB seasons with three teams. Baltimore grabbed him off waivers from San Francisco in August. He went 5-for-24 in 17 games with the Orioles. Dubin was also an August waiver claim, coming over from the Astros. He threw eight innings with Baltimore, pitching to a 3.38 ERA.

Walker has bounced around plenty over the last year and a half. The Mets traded him to the Pirates midway through 2024. He signed with Toronto as a minor league free agent last offseason. The Blue Jays traded him to the Phillies at the end of May. After Philadelphia designated him for assignment in August, the Orioles claimed him off waivers. Walker has a 6.59 ERA across 26 big-league appearances over the past three seasons.

Ragsdale and Castillo are no strangers to waiver claims, including moves that involved each other. Baltimore claimed Ragsdale from San Francisco in August, only to toss him back on the waiver pile when they grabbed Castillo. The Orioles claimed Ragsdale again in September, this time from the Braves.

Houston signed Leon in 2021. He reached Triple-A that same season. Leon slashed .299/.372/.514 with Sugar Land in 2024, leading to a brief call-up. He recorded a pair of hits over seven games with the Astros before heading back to Triple-A. An MCL sprain cost Leon the majority of the 2025 campaign. He played just 25 games this past season.

Mets Claim Ji Hwan Bae, Jose Castillo

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The Mets announced that they have claimed outfielder Ji Hwan Bae off waivers from the Pirates and left-hander José Castillo from the Orioles. They also announced that infielder Nick Madrigal has elected free agency. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported the Bae claim prior to the official announcement. It was reported earlier this week that the Bucs had put him on the wire.

Bae, 26, was once a notable prospect with the Pirates but he hasn’t panned out yet. He has slashed .223/.294/.293 in 514 plate appearances spread over four seasons. But he has some wheels, having stolen 37 bases. He has continued to hit in the minors, however. He has a combined .306/.390/.451 line and 126 wRC+ dating back to the start of 2022. That includes a 119 wRC+ and .292/.380/.424 line in Triple-A this year.

The Mets didn’t have a center field solution this year. Jose Siri was injured for most of the season. Tyrone Taylor struggled. They acquired Cedric Mullins at the deadline but he didn’t help. Bae still has an option, so he can push Taylor for the job in 2026 but he could also end up in Syracuse as depth.

Castillo, 30 in January, should be a familiar face to Mets fans. He was on and off the club’s roster throughout the 2025 season. He was lost off waivers to the Mariners and then Orioles in September but the Mets have grabbed him back today. The lefty tossed 32 big league innings on the year with a 3.94 earned run average. His 20.1% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate were a bit worse than par but his 54% ground ball rate was strong.

The lefty is eligible for arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $1.7MM salary next year. Presumably, the Mets are comfortable paying him something in that range. He’ll join a lefty relief mix that includes A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley and Richard Lovelady.

Madrigal signed a one-year, $1.35MM deal with the Mets last offseason. However, a left shoulder fracture required season-ending surgery back in February. He could have been retained for 2026 via arbitration but the Mets have cut him loose. It seems every other club also passed on the chance to grab him off waivers. He’ll look for his next opportunity, which will likely be a minor league deal.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

Orioles Claim Jose Castillo, Designate Carson Ragsdale

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The Orioles announced Monday that they’ve claimed left-handed reliever Jose Castillo off waivers from the Mariners. Righty Carson Ragsdale was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Baltimore also placed righty Albert Suarez on the 15-day IL due to right elbow discomfort and recalled fellow righties Chayce McDermott and Yaramil Hiraldo from Triple-A Norfolk.

Castillo, 29, joins his fourth team of the 2025 season. He’s suited up for not only the Mariners but also the Mets and D-backs. The well-traveled southpaw has pitched 24 2/3 innings and turned in a 4.38 ERA with a 19.5% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate. He’s tallied three holds in five situations, but lefties (.390/.469/.561) and righties (.300/.377/.455) have both hit well against Castillo in limited appearances.

This marks Castillo’s first generally healthy season since his rookie year in 2018, when he pitched 38 1/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball for the Padres. Injuries decimated the lefty’s career; he pitched only 1 2/3 big league innings combined from 2019-24 and didn’t top 37 2/3 innings at the minor league level in any season along the way. Castillo can still be controlled another two seasons beyond the current year, if he sticks on the Orioles’ 40-man roster.

Ragsdale, 27, is a longtime Giants farmhand who made his way to the O’s via waivers earlier this summer. He made his big league debut with Baltimore, tossing three innings but serving up eight runs on nine hits and a walk with two strikeouts. The 2020 fourth-rounder had solid numbers throughout much of his minor league tenure but has stumbled to a 4.87 earned run average with just a 19.7% strikeout rate and a 12% walk rate.

Ragsdale notched a 2.93 ERA in High-A and a 3.49 mark in Double-A, but he’s barely kept his ERA under 5.00 in parts of two Triple-A seasons. He’s sitting 92.6 mph on his four-seamer this year, complementing the pitch with a high-70s curveball and a splitter — the former of which has previously drawn plus grades in scouting reports. Ragsdale has two minor league option years remaining beyond the current season, which could heighten his appeal to clubs in need of pitching depth.

As for the 35-year-old Suarez, this elbow issue will end his season. He’s missed most of the 2025 campaign due to a separate shoulder injury. Suarez pitched well in 11 2/3 big league innings between injuries, logging a 2.31 ERA with a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio. The journeyman righty was a godsend for the O’s in 2024, going from a minor league signee to a key member of the staff who tossed 133 2/3 innings with a 3.70 ERA.

Suarez pitched in the majors with the Giants from 2016-17 and then spent the 2019-23 seasons starring in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball (2019-21) and the Korea Baseball Organization (2022-23). The O’s can control him for three more seasons via arbitration, but it’s not clear how severe his current elbow ailment is or how much time it might cause him to miss.

Mariners Designate José Castillo For Assignment

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The Mariners announced today that they have recalled right-hander Casey Legumina from Triple-A Tacoma. In a corresponding move, left-hander José Castillo has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Castillo, 29, was just claimed off waivers from the Mets earlier this month. Since that claim, he has given the Mariners three scoreless innings. This move is likely more a result of circumstances than his performance. The Mariners are seven games into a stretch of ten in a row. The bullpen has been leaned on heavily in recent days. Five different relievers pitched on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, six relievers were used in a game which went to 13 innings. Three of those six pitchers tossed more than an inning. Last night, the club had another long one, using six relievers in a 12-inning game.

Every reliever in the bullpen pitched at least twice in that three-day span except for Emerson Hancock, who logged two innings on Wednesday. Castillo himself pitched in each of the last two games and has seemingly been nudged out to get a fresh arm into the bullpen.

It’s been that kind of year for Castillo, who has generally pitched well. But since he’s out of options, he has been forced into DFA limbo numerous times. He started the year with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal. He was added to the big league roster at the start of May. Less than two weeks later, he was designated for assignment and traded to the Mets. The latter club designated him for assignment three times. The first two resulted in him clearing waivers and later getting added back to the roster, but the M’s claimed him on the third.

He’s now back in DFA limbo yet again. Since the trade deadline has passed, he’ll be back on waivers in the coming days. Around all the transactions, he has tossed 24 2/3 innings with a 4.38 earned run average, 19.5% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate and 55.7% ground ball rate. He has also thrown 16 Triple-A innings this year with a 1.69 ERA, 35.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 50% grounder rate.

At this time of year, he wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming club, though perhaps some team is in need of a fresh arm for the stretch run. As mentioned, Castillo just appeared in the past two games but will have a chance to rest for a few days while on waivers. He could also be retained for next year via arbitration if he’s on a roster somewhere at the end of the season.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Mariners Claim José Castillo, Designate Joe Jacques For Assignment

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed left-hander José Castillo off waivers from the Mets. The latter club designated him for assignment a few days ago. To open a 40-man roster spot, fellow lefty Joe Jacques has been designated for assignment. Castillo is out of options, so the M’s will need to make a corresponding active roster move once he reports to the team. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported the claim prior to the official announcement.

Castillo, 29, has logged 21 2/3 innings this year between the Diamondbacks and Mets. He has allowed 4.98 earned runs per nine but with better underlying metrics. His 21% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both close to average, while his 52.9% ground ball rate is quite strong.

That performance hasn’t been enough to keep him in the majors for an extended stretch. Since he is out of options, he has been designated for assignment multiple times this year. Arizona gave him his first DFA of the season in May and then flipped him to the Mets for cash. Since then, the Mets have given him the DFA treatment three times. The first two resulted in him clearing waivers and sticking with the Mets, later getting selected back to the roster. Around the transactions, he also tossed 16 Triple-A innings with a 1.69 ERA, 35.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate.

On this third Mets DFA, the Mariners have swooped in to grab him. They already have three lefties in their bullpen, with Gabe Speier, Caleb Ferguson and Tayler Saucedo back there, but adding Castillo will give them even more balance in their relief corps. He has between four and five years of big league service time, so they can retain him for 2026 via arbitration if he still has a roster spot at season’s end.

Jacques, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason. He was traded to the Mariners in early July. The M’s added him to their 40-man roster and then immediately optioned him to Triple-A. It’s likely that his deal with the Dodgers had some sort of opt-out or upward mobility clause. The Dodgers evidently weren’t willing to give him a 40-man spot but the M’s were.

In the minors this year, he has posted poor surface-level results with better underlying numbers. He has thrown 47 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League with a 6.51 ERA. His 23.6% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate are close to par while his 59.7% ground ball rate has been quite good. He has seemingly been undone by a .393 batting average on balls in play and 57.7% strand rate, which are both on the unlucky side. His 4.61 FIP this year is far more optimistic than his ERA.

Despite the positive indicators, the M’s are moving on. Jacques is in his final option year and will therefore be out of options going into 2026. That would have made it harder for them to roster him going forward, so they are cutting him loose now.

Since the trade deadline has passed, he’ll be on waivers in the coming days. It some team believes he can post better numbers going forward, perhaps away from the PCL, then they could put in a claim. He can still be stashed in the minors for the rest of this year. He has less than a year of service time and theoretically has years of control, though as mentioned, he’ll be out of options next year. He has 29 2/3 major league innings with a 5.46 ERA, 15.9% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 61.9% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Mets Designate Jose Castillo For Assignment

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The Mets announced that left-hander Jose Castillo has been designated for assignment.  Right-hander Chris Devenski was called up from Triple-A Syracuse in the corresponding move.  The transaction brings Devenski’s fresh arm into the bullpen, as Castillo tossed 47 pitches over a two-inning relief outing in Friday’s 19-9 rout of the Marlins.

Castillo is out of minor league options, and thus this is the fourth time this season he has been DFA’d since has to first clear waivers before being sent to Triple-A.  The first designation came in May when Castillo was still a member of the Diamondbacks, and the Mets then brought the southpaw into the organization via trade.  In Castillo’s previous two DFAs with New York, he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Syracuse.  It stands to reason that the same will happen here, though Castillo has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if he wants to explore the open market.

Despite the roster churn, Castillo has pitched quite well during his time in Queens, posting a 2.35 ERA, 53.3% grounder rate, 25.7% strikeout rate, and 8.1% walk rate over 15 1/3 innings with the Mets.  This represents Castillo’s best stretch in the majors since his 2018 rookie season, when he broke into the Show with a 3.29 ERA over 38 1/3 relief innings with the Padres.

However, Castillo tossed just two MLB innings between the 2019-24 seasons, due to a variety of injuries that included a Tommy John surgery.  His bottom-line numbers for New York provide some proof that the 29-year-old can still be effective against big league hitters, even if the Mets see him as an expendable arm.

Mets Place Reed Garrett On IL Due To Elbow Inflammation

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The Mets announced today that right-hander Reed Garrett has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow inflammation, retroactive to August 23rd. They have selected left-hander José Castillo to take Garrett’s place on the active roster. Righty Frankie Montas has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.

Garrett, 32, has been a key part of the Mets bullpen for about two years now. He broke out with a strong performance in 2024, tossing 57 1/3 innings with a 3.77 earned run average. His 12.1% walk rate was high but he struck out 33.6% of batters faced and got grounders on 44.3% of balls in play. He moved up the club’s pecking order, earning four saves and 14 holds.

He has largely kept that kind of performance going here in 2025. He has thrown another 52 1/3 innings with a 3.61 ERA, 28.3% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate and 39.1% ground ball rate. He has added another three saves and 20 more holds.

To this point, the Mets haven’t provided any details about his injury or how long they expect him to be out of action, but it’s a concerning development regardless. It’s always somewhat worrisome when a pitcher’s throwing elbow isn’t 100%. For the Mets, they have been hit hard by the injury bug this year, with a number of relievers requiring season-ending surgeries in the first half. The club bolstered the group ahead of the deadline by acquiring Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto.

Despite adding those reinforcements, the club has been struggling this summer. They have gone 7-14 in the month of August and are barely clinging to a playoff spot. They are holding the third and final Wild Card slot in the National League but are just 1.5 games ahead of the Reds.

Part of that is due to Garrett himself. He had a 2.87 ERA in the first half but that has been up to 5.52 so far in the second half. A lot of that seems to be luck. He had a 25.5% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate in the first half, with those figures improving to 36.2% and 6.9% respectively in the second half. However, his strand rate went from a fairly average 74.2% to 51% while his home run to fly ball rate went from 5.9% to 27.3%. Though his ERA almost doubled in the second half, his FIP had a far more modest jump from 3.22 to 3.73 while his SIERA actually made a significant improvement, going from 3.92 to 2.16.

Even if the recent struggles aren’t entirely due to misfortunate, the Mets surely don’t want to be losing more pitchers to the injured list, especially after the deadline when it’s harder to find external solutions. For Garrett personally, it’s also less than ideal as he’s just about to qualify for arbitration for the first time.

For now, the Mets will add Castillo to the roster. He started the season with the Diamondbacks but was designated for assignment in May. The Mets sent some cash to Arizona to bring him aboard. Since then, he has bounced on and off the roster. They have twice designated him for assignment and sent him through waivers. Each time, he has accepted an assignment to Triple-A Syracuse and later been added back to the roster.

Overall, he has thrown 18 2/3 innings in the big leagues this year with a 5.30 ERA. His 21.5% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate have been close to average. His 53.3% ground ball rate is quite good but perhaps a lot of those grounders have found holes, as his .421 batting average on balls in play is quite high. His 3.76 SIERA suggests he has deserved far better than the ERA would indicate. He has also thrown 16 Triple-A innings this year with a 1.69 ERA, 35.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate. He is out of options, which has contributed to his many roster moves this year, so it’s possible his grip on a spot will again be tenuous this time around.

As for Montas, his transfer to the 60-day IL is not a surprise. It was reported a few days ago that he has a “pretty significant” injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. It’s unclear how his 2026 will be impacted but he won’t return in 2025, so this move was inevitable.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

Outright Assignments: 7/31/25

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Here’s the rundown of a few outright assignments that were announced during the blizzard of roster moves taking place on deadline day…

  • Catcher Jacob Stallings cleared waivers, and elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate.  Baltimore designated Stallings for assignment earlier this week, and since he has been previously outrighted in his career, Stallings had the ability to opt for free agency this time around.  Stallings signed a minor league deal with the O’s last month when the team was dealing with a myriad of catching injuries, and he was selected to the active roster to appear in 14 games.  Now in his 10th big league season, Stallings has hit .134/.195/.168 over 129 combined plate appearances with the Orioles and Rockies in 2025.  While these struggles represent a low for Stallings, he has generally been a below-average hitter apart from an .810 OPS over 281 PA with Colorado last year.
  • The Mets outrighted left-hander Jose Castillo off their 40-man roster and assigned him to Triple-A Syracuse.  It is the second time in a little over a month that Castillo was DFA’ed and then outrighted, and he chose to accept his last assignment to Syracuse rather than test free agency.  After posting an ugly 11.37 ERA in 6 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks, Castillo was traded to New York in mid-May and has pitched well when he has been in the big leagues, with a 2.19 ERA over 12 1/3 innings and 14 relief appearances.  This is Castillo’s first real sustained stretch of decent MLB results since his 2018 rookie season with the Padres, when he had a 3.29 ERA across his first 38 1/3 frames in the Show.
  • The Braves outrighted catcher Jason Delay to Triple-A Gwinnett.  Delay also has a past outright on his resume, but it isn’t yet known if he’ll accept the assignment or opt for free agency.  It wasn’t known that Delay had been designated for assignment, but the move isn’t too surprising, as the Braves are deep at catcher and Delay hadn’t seen any time on Atlanta’s active roster.  Delay has a .231/.295/.315 slash line over 373 PA in the majors, all with the Pirates from 2022-24.  The Braves acquired him from the Bucs in April to add depth when Sean Murphy was recovering from a broken rib.

Mets Designate Jose Castillo For Assignment

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The Mets have designated left-hander Jose Castillo for assignment, per a club announcement. The move makes room for the addition of lefty Gregory Soto to the active roster. Soto was acquired from the Orioles on Friday.

Castillo, 29, debuted with the Padres all the way back in 2018. That rookie year saw him pitch to a 3.29 ERA with a 2.64 FIP in 38 1/3 innings of work while striking out opponents at a 34.7% clip. It was an impressive showing, but injuries and ineffectiveness limited Castillo to just three total outings in the majors over the next six seasons. He surrendered five runs on four walks while striking out three in two innings of work during those outings, though he posted decent numbers at the Triple-A level with a 4.32 ERA in 125 innings of work with a 29.1% strikeout rate during that time.

The lefty eventually resurfaced this year and has split his time between the Mets and Diamondbacks. His five outings in Arizona went quite poorly, as he surrendered eight runs on ten hits and three walks while striking out just three in 6 1/3 frames, but since joining the Mets back in May he’s looked much better with a 2.19 ERA and 2.76 FIP in 14 appearances. Castillo has already been designated for assignment and outrighted off New York’s roster once this season. He’ll now go through the waiver process again unless the Mets are able to work out a trade involving him prior to Thursday’s trade deadline. If he goes unclaimed on waivers once again, he’ll have the opportunity to either accept an outright assignment to the minor leagues from the Mets or elect free agency, at which point he would be free to sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs on a fresh contract.

Replacing Castillo on the roster is Soto who the Mets dealt a pair of prospects to Baltimore in order to acquire. The southpaw has a 3.96 ERA in 36 1/3 innings of work for the Orioles this year, with a 27.5% strikeout rate and a 3.28 FIP. A two time All-Star with the Tigers in 2021 and ’22, Soto was shipped to the Phillies prior to the 2023 season and has struggled during his time with Philadelphia and Baltimore since then, with a lackluster 4.53 ERA across the 2023 and ’24 seasons despite a tidy 3.63 FIP. The Mets will surely help that they can help him return to his prior All-Star caliber form so he can join the late-inning mix alongside closer Edwin Diaz, but even if Soto is little more than a league average middle relief arm for the club he’ll offer much-needed depth to a bullpen that has lost a half dozen relievers to the injured list already.

Mets Select José Castillo

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The Mets announced today that they have selected left-hander José Castillo to the roster. Right-hander Alex Carrillo has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding active roster move. Righty Max Kranick has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. It was reported a week ago that Kranick will require season-ending elbow surgery.

The Mets have been churning arms through their bullpen for a long time, thanks to a string of injuries, particularly to left-handers. They had planned on having A.J. Minter and Danny Young as their southpaw contingent in the bullpen but both required season-ending surgeries by the middle of May. Since then, they’ve also lost Kranick and Dedniel Núñez to the scalpel.

Castillo, 29, was one of the reinforcements. He was acquired from the Diamondbacks in mid-May, shortly after Minter and Young went down. He spent a little over a month on the roster, tossing 11 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs despite giving up 16 hits, issuing six walks and hitting four opponents. He struck out 14 batters and got ground balls on 55.9% of balls in play allowed.

The Mets bumped him off the roster at the end of June and then passed him through waivers. He accepted an outright assignment and has since been pitching for Syracuse, allowing one earned run in 5 1/3 innings.

Not too long ago, the Mets activated Brooks Raley from the injured list, as he had recovered from last year’s Tommy John surgery. They acquired Gregory Soto from the Orioles earlier today. Now with Castillo coming back, they will have three lefties whenever Soto reports to the team. However, it’s also possible that Castillo gets bumped out again to make room for Soto at that point. The Mets could also make further relief additions between now and next week’s deadline.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

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