Rodolfo Castro To Sign With NPB’s Nippon-Ham Fighters
The Blue Jays released infielder Rodolfo Castro from his minor league contract, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction tracker. Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports that Castro is pursuing an opportunity with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan.
Castro had just signed with Toronto a couple months ago. Rather than try to earn his way into a crowded infield picture as a non-roster invitee, he’ll collect a guaranteed salary and head to Asia for the first time in his career. Castro has played parts of four seasons in the big leagues. The majority of that has come with the Pirates, who traded him to Philadelphia at the 2023 deadline. He made just 14 appearances for the Phils down the stretch and has not played in the leagues within the past two years.
The righty-hitting infielder was in Triple-A when he suffered a season-ending thumb injury in 2024. Philadelphia dropped him from the 40-man roster that offseason. Castro played the entire ’25 season with their top affiliate in Lehigh Valley. He hit .235/.324/.421 with 19 homers and 18 stolen bases. Castro qualified for minor league free agency and would likely have been at Triple-A Buffalo had he not gotten the NPB opportunity.
Blue Jays, Rodolfo Castro Agree To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays are signing infielder Rodolfo Castro to a minor league contract, reports Ari Alexander of 7News. He’ll be in major league camp next spring as a non-roster invitee.
Still just 26 years old (27 in May), Castro played in parts of three big league seasons from 2021-23, with most of that time coming in Pittsburgh. He hit .233/.299/.427 with 11 homers in 278 plate appearances back in ’22, but he’s an overall .219/.282/.380 hitter in 627 turns at the plate. Castro has walked in 8.1% of his major league plate appearances and gone down on strikes at a 27.9% clip. Prior to the 2025 season, Castro had been a switch-hitter who was considerably better as a right-handed hitter (.264/.331/.528) than as a left-handed hitter (.191/.268/.286).
In 2025, Castro dropped switch-hitting and focused on his right-handed swing, hitting .235/.324/.421 with 19 home runs and 18 steals in 133 games for the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate. He’s a career .236/.320/.434 hitter in parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level. Defensively, he has at least 1899 innings of professional experience at each of third base, shortstop and second base. Castro has posted sub-par grades in the middle infield but notched strong grades in his 315 big league innings at the hot corner. During his prospect days, Baseball America labeled him a serviceable defender at all three positions and profiled him as a future bench piece.
That’ll be the role for which Castro vies next spring. The Blue Jays technically have some infield openings right now, but they’ll attempt to bring Bo Bichette back in free agency and plug him into one of the two middle infield slots alongside Andres Gimenez. Addison Barger could play third base or right field, depending on how the rest of the offseason moves shake out. Ernie Clement is an option at any of second base, shortstop or third base. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., of course, is locked in at first base.
The bench is less certain, though the Jays could bring in some veteran help in that regard as well. For now, Davis Schneider and out-of-options Leo Jimenez are penciled into reserve roles. Bringing Bichette back or making a different infield acquisition could push Clement into a utility role, which would leave only one spot for Schneider, Jimenez and any non-roster invitees (assuming backup catcher Tyler Heineman and backup outfielder Myles Straw continue to hold the other spots).
Players Entering Minor League Free Agency
Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end. MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.
This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.
Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez
Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel
Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward
Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson
Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez
White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius
Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young
Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski
Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,
Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo
Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney
Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix
Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez
Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod
Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey
Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva
Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie
Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos
Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez
Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry
Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan
Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson
Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou
Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small
Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner
Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera
Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti
Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein
Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields
Phillies Sign Joel Kuhnel To Minor League Deal
The Phillies announced a list of 23 non-roster invitees to major league Spring Training. Reliever Joel Kuhnel is among that group. According to the MLB.com transaction log, the right-hander signed a minor league contract with Philadelphia on December 21. The Phils also brought back infielder Rodolfo Castro shortly after he elected free agency in November and added former Minnesota and Detroit minor leaguer Austin Schulfer.
Kuhnel, 30 next month, was outrighted off the Rays’ 40-man roster at the beginning of the offseason. He made five big league appearances with Tampa Bay after being claimed off waivers in July. Kuhnel tossed eight innings of one-run ball in his limited MLB work. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) over 14 2/3 frames for their Triple-A team in Durham.
A former Reds draftee, Kuhnel has bounced around the league over the past two years. The Phils are his sixth organization since 2022. Kuhnel has pitched in the majors for Cincinnati, Houston and Tampa Bay. He has had Triple-A stints with the Brewers and Blue Jays. He carries a 5.93 earned run average across parts of five big league seasons. He has kept the ball on the ground at a lofty 52% clip but has a well below-average 18.7% strikeout rate. It was a similar story at the Triple-A level last season. Kuhnel’s 17.7% strikeout percentage was unimpressive, but he induced grounders at a huge 57.6% rate.
Castro landed in Philly at the 2023 deadline in a trade with Pittsburgh. The switch-hitting utilityman hit .100 in 14 games down the stretch. He spent the ’24 season in the minors, much of it on the injured list. Castro only appeared in 19 Triple-A games and suffered a season-ending thumb injury in August. The Phillies made the fairly easy call to outright him off the 40-man at season’s end, though they circled back to keep the 25-year-old in the organization.
Schulfer, 29, has yet to reach the majors. The 6’2″ righty reliever has spent parts of three seasons in Triple-A. He owns a 4.62 ERA across 142 1/3 frames at the top minor league level. Schulfer divided last season between the Twins’ and Tigers’ systems. He combined for a 4.94 ERA while striking out a quarter of opponents over 54 2/3 innings, nearly all of which came in Triple-A.
Phillies Acquire Devin Sweet, Claim John McMillon
The Phillies announced they acquired reliever Devin Sweet from the Tigers and added him to the 40-man roster. Philadelphia also claimed reliever John McMillon off waivers from the Marlins and selected righty Alan Rangel onto the 40-man. The Phils dropped Kolby Allard, Yunior Marté, Freddy Tarnok, Luis Ortiz and Rodolfo Castro from the roster by running them through outright waivers.
Sweet had not been on Detroit’s 40-man roster. He was set to reach minor league free agency today. While Detroit evidently wasn’t going to select his contract, the Phils were intrigued enough to carry him on the roster. The 28-year-old righty posted big numbers for the Tigers’ top affiliate in Toledo. Sweet struck out almost 34% of Triple-A hitters and posted a 3.91 ERA through 76 innings. He has limited MLB experience, allowing 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings between two teams in 2023.
McMillon changes hands via waivers for the second time in a few months. Miami grabbed the 6’3″ righty from Kansas City in early August. McMillon pitched well over 10 appearances for the Fish but ended the year on the injured list with elbow tightness. The Texas Tech product has an earned run average approaching 5.00 over four seasons in the minors. He averages north of 95 MPH on his fastball, so it’s a low-risk flier on a pitcher with a decent arm and two minor league options remaining.
Rangel, 27, signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia in July. The Mexican-born righty tossed 29 1/3 innings of 4.30 ERA ball in a swing role in Triple-A. He didn’t miss many bats but showed solid control. Rangel, who has yet to make his big league debut, would have been eligible for minor league free agency again this winter.
Of the players coming off the roster, Allard and Marté had the biggest roles this year. The former worked as a depth starter and posted an even 5.00 earned run average through 27 innings. The latter was hit hard to the tune of a 6.92 ERA across 26 frames in a middle relief role. Ortiz made one appearance but missed the majority of the year to ankle and shoulder problems. Castro played in Triple-A, where he tore a thumb ligament in August. Tarnok didn’t pitch in the majors after the Phillies claimed him from the A’s in June.
Phillies Outright Nick Nelson
September 11: Philadelphia announced this evening that Nelson again cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Lehigh Valley. There’s no indication that he’ll elect free agency, though he’ll be a minor league free agent at the end of the year unless the Phils call him back up.
September 7: The Phillies announced a quartet of roster moves in advance of their game with the Marlins, as catcher Aramis Garcia is joining the big league roster after his contract was selected from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Right-hander Jose Cuas is also joining the organization on a waiver claim from the Blue Jays and has been assigned to Triple-A. In corresponding moves, Philadelphia designated right-hander Nick Nelson for assignment and placed infielder Rodolfo Castro on the 60-day injured list. Castro was first called up from Triple-A before the IL placement, and it was already known that his season would be over after he tore a thumb ligament at the end of August.
Garcia is back in the Show to give the Phillies some extra catching depth since J.T. Realmuto is a little banged up. Manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer) that Realmuto will need “a couple of days” to rest up after fouling a ball off his knee in yesterday’s game, but the Phils don’t think Realmuto will need to visit the 10-day injured list. Garcia and Garrett Stubbs will therefore handle catching duties for what the team hopes is just a short time until Realmuto is feeling better.
This is the second time this season that Cuas has changed teams via the waiver wire, as the Blue Jays claimed him off the Cubs’ roster back in June. Cuas tossed three innings across four appearances for Toronto before the Jays DFA’ed him earlier this week, and the righty has a rough 7.71 ERA in 16 1/3 total innings this season with the Blue Jays and Cubs. It has been a big step down from the 3.84 ERA Cuas posted over 103 innings with the Royals and Cubs during the 2022-23 seasons, and even that respectable number was undermined by some shaky secondary metrics.
Control problems have contributed to Cuas’ struggles in both the majors and minors this year, as he has a 6.67 ERA across 27 combined Triple-A frames. Still missing a lot of bats despite those walks, the Phillies will take a look at Cuas and his plus sweeper, and Cuas will essentially replace Nelson as a depth arm.
Nelson was also designated for assignment last month before he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Lehigh Valley. This prior outright means that Nelson can now decline another outright assignment in favor of free agency, if he is perhaps looking for a fresh start after three seasons with the Phillies. He pitched 68 2/3 innings over 47 appearances with Philadelphia in 2022 but he has made just five MLB appearances since, totaling 10 2/3 frames at the big league level. A couple of injuries contributed to some of Nelson’s missed time on the Phils’ roster, but the club seemed to just view Nelson as a depth pitcher, first as a starter in 2023 and then back to relief work this season.
Phillies’ Rodolfo Castro Suffers Season-Ending Thumb Injury
Phillies infielder Rodolfo Castro, who is on optional assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, is out for the season. Matt Gelb of the Athletic reports (on X) that Castro tore a ligament in his right thumb and will miss the rest of the year.
It’s a minor hit to Philadelphia’s infield depth. Castro is on the 40-man roster but hasn’t played for the Phils this season. The 25-year-old has spent most of the year on the minor league injured list. He hasn’t hit well in 23 minor league contests and didn’t make much of an impact in 14 MLB games for the Phils last year.
A switch-hitter with some defensive flexibility, Castro played in 180 games over parts of three seasons with the Pirates. Philadelphia acquired him in a one-for-one swap for left-hander Bailey Falter at the 2023 deadline. Falter has been a decent back-end starter for the Bucs this year, working to a 4.02 ERA across 21 appearances. Even though he wouldn’t have had a path to a rotation spot in Philly, that trade worked out squarely in Pittsburgh’s favor.
The Phils could recall Castro and place him on the major league 60-day injured list if they want to open a 40-man roster spot at some point. It’s also possible they simply release him to clear a 40-man opening. This is Castro’s last minor league option year, so the Phils would need to carry him on next year’s MLB roster or place him on waivers. He’s not a lock to hold his roster spot all offseason even if Philadelphia keeps him for the remainder of the year.
Phillies Place Dylan Covey On 15-Day Injured List
The Phillies announced four roster moves today, including the news that right-hander Dylan Covey was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 28) due to lower back pain. Infielder Rodolfo Castro was also optioned to the club’s Spring Training complex now that the minor league season is over, while right-hander Luis Ortiz and utilityman Weston Wilson were called up from Triple-A to fill the two open spots on the active roster.
Covey is now ineligible to return until at least October 12, so he wouldn’t be available for a playoff roster unless the Phillies reached the NLCS. Even in that best-case scenario, the Phillies might not prefer to activate a pitcher coming off an extended layoff, and Covey might have been something of a borderline candidate to make the postseason roster even if healthy.
Regardless of the unfortunate ending, 2023 has still been Covey’s most successful season in the big leagues. He posted a 6.57 ERA over 264 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Red Sox from 2017-20 before heading to the Chinese Professional Baseball League for two seasons with the Rakuten Monkeys. Covey pitched well enough to attract the attention of North America, and he inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers that resulted in a single MLB game in Dodger Blue.
Covey was designated for assignment after that lone game in May but quickly claimed off waivers by the Phillies. Powered by a 54.3% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact, Covey has a 3.69 ERA over 39 innings with Philadelphia, posting some quality bottom-line results despite a very modest 15.7% strikeout rate. Even his ERA is somewhat skewed by Covey’s lone start with the Phillies, as he lasted just two-thirds of an inning while allowing five earned runs. In 42 1/3 other innings as a reliever in 2023, Covey’s ERA is 2.76.
Phillies Designate Andrew Vasquez, Release Josh Harrison
The Phillies announced a series of roster moves today, adding infielder Rodolfo Castro and right-hander Michael Lorenzen to the roster, both of whom were acquired in trades yesterday. To open one roster spot, Josh Harrison was designated for assignment, as reported yesterday. He has now been released. The other spot was opened by left-hander Andrew Vasquez being designated for assignment.
Vasquez, 29, came to the Phillies in the offseason when they claimed him off waivers from the Giants. He is out of options but has managed to stick on the active roster for the entire season up until now. He’s tossed 39 2/3 innings over 30 appearances with a 2.27 ERA.
On the surface, that makes it somewhat surprising that he’s now lost his roster spot, but the numbers under the hood aren’t quite as impressive. His 8.2% walk rate and 43% ground ball rate are pretty close to league average, but his 20% strikeout rate is a few ticks below. He’s benefitted from a .274 batting average on balls in play and 86.8% strand rate, both of which are on the lucky side, leading to a 4.31 FIP and 4.29 SIERA.
The Phillies were apparently expecting some regression and have bumped him off the roster. Since he’s out of options and the trade deadline has passed, that left them little choice but to designate him for assignment and try to pass him through waivers. In the event he clears, he will have the right to elect free agency since he has a previous career outright. Despite his out-of-options status, he could garner interest from a club with more ability to keep him on the active roster. He has a career 3.60 ERA in 52 appearances and comes with five seasons of control beyond the current campaign.
As for Harrison, he’s making a $2MM salary this year and has played poorly, hitting just .204/.263/.291. He wasn’t going to be claimed off waivers and has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while retaining all of his salary. That means his return to the open market was inevitable and the Phils have simply skipped the formalities. He’ll be free to sign with the other 29 clubs for the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Phillies pay.
Phillies, Pirates To Swap Bailey Falter For Rodolfo Castro
The Phillies and Pirates are nearing a swap of left-hander Bailey Falter and infielder Rodolfo Castro, reports Jayson Stark of The Athletic (Twitter link). The deal has been agreed upon, pending medical reviews, tweets Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Falter, who turned 26 earlier this season, will give the Pirates an immediate option in the rotation. He’s struggled in 2023, logging a 5.13 ERA in 40 1/3 frames, but is only a season removed from 84 innings of 3.86 ball over the life of 20 appearances (16 of them starts) with Philadelphia. Though Falter has struggled both in the Majors and in Triple-A this season, he’s generally pitched with excellent command (career 4.7% walk rate in MLB, 7.3% in Triple-A). He’s not a hard-thrower, but Falter has still missed bats in the upper minors and can be controlled for an additional five years via arbitration.
Falter is in the last of his three option years. He can be shuttled between Triple-A Indianapolis and Pittsburgh for the remainder of the current season, but the Bucs will need to keep him on the Opening Day roster in 2024 or else designate him for assignment and risk exposing him to waivers. Today’s trade of Rich Hill to the Padres and injuries to others (e.g. JT Brubaker, Vince Velasquez) have created enough uncertainty in the Pittsburgh rotation that there ought to be room for Falter to have a trial run in the season’s final two months. Pittsburgh’s starting staff currently includes Mitch Keller, Johan Oviedo and rookies Quinn Priester and Osvaldo Bido.
As for the Phillies, they’ll add a switch-hitter with experience at three infield spots. Much like Falter, Castro is in his final option season, potentially has five years of club control remaining, and is struggling in 2023 after a solid showing in 2022. Last year saw the 24-year-old turn in a .233/.299/.427 batting line (103 wRC+) with 11 home runs and seven doubles in 278 plate appearances. That’s not exactly standout production, but Castro drew solid defensive grades at the hot corner and looked like a potential utilityman moving forward, at the very least.
Castro got out to a huge start in 2023, batting .286/.378/.468 through the end of April, but his bat has cratered. Since May 1, he’s hitting just .192/.271/.283 with three homers, two doubles and a 30.1% strikeout rate in 133 plate appearances. He’s drawn nice grades for his defense a second base this season but lesser reviews for his work at third base and shortstop. On the whole, Castro is a switch-hitter with a bit of pop who can perhaps be relied upon at second or third base but is more of an in-a-pinch option at shortstop.
The Phillies were known to be looking for right-handed bats, and while Castro likely wasn’t on many (or any) radars in that regard, he does fill the need. The switch-hitter touts a career .277/.341/.559 line as a right-handed hitter (just .193/.272/.293 as a lefty) and is hitting .290/.368/.538 from the right side of the dish this season.
It’s an interesting swap of a pair of young change-of-scenery candidates. The Phillies, having acquired Michael Lorenzen to pair with Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suarez, didn’t have any immediate need in the rotation for Falter, who’s also been passed on the depth chart by Cristopher Sanchez. The Pirates, meanwhile, now have Liover Peguero, Nick Gonzales and Alika Williams in the infield mix alongside injured hopeful cornerstones Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz. There wasn’t a clear long-term role for Castro. It’s something of a “challenge” trade for a back-end starter and potential role player, beefing up depth for each organization in potential areas of need.