Diego Castillo, an infielder, was sent straight to Triple-A Norfolk after failing to make it through waivers, the Orioles confirmed. He is still with the team and is probably going to receive an invitation to big league Spring Training as a non-roster player.
It provides Castillo with closure after what has probably been a trying few weeks. Since the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment shortly before Christmas, he has exchanged hands four times during the waiver process. Castillo made a brief appearance with the Phillies, Yankees, and Mets. A week ago, Philadelphia put him on the roster for assignment in order to make space for Kaleb Ort, who they ironically DFA’d and moved to Baltimore yesterday. After grabbing Castillo, the O’s DFAd him in favour of lefty reliever Matt Krook on Sunday.
Baltimore managed to retain him around in a non-roster capacity by slipping him past waivers unclaimed. It’s obvious that several teams are considering Castillo as a depth option. The native of Venezuela has demonstrated excellent minor contact skills. During portions of three Triple-A seasons, he has a hitting line of.296/.410/.407, including a.313/.431/.410 slash for Arizona’s top club last season.
That did not transfer into success in Major League Baseball during Castillo’s Pirates rookie season. The right-handed hitter finished 96 games with Pittsburgh two seasons ago with a.206/.251/.382 line. He made just one major league appearance for Arizona last season. Castillo is expected to start the 2024 season in Norfolk, behind a wealth of talented infield players on the Baltimore
