The Orioles announced that right-hander Anthony Castro has been claimed off waivers from the Guardians, and subsequently optioned to Triple-A. Right-hander Phoenix Sanders was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. In addition, Baltimore outrighted infielder Richie Martin to Triple-A, as Martin cleared waivers after being designated earlier this week.
Castro has pitched in each of the last three MLB seasons, all with different teams — the Tigers in 2020, the Blue Jays in 2021, and the Guardians in 2022. Cleveland acquired Castro from Toronto for Bradley Zimmer back in April, and Castro ended up posting a 7.43 ERA over 13 1/3 relief innings in the majors.
Within that small sample size, Castro issued 10 walks and allowed five home runs. Control has been a persistent problem for Castro throughout his nine pro seasons, though at least at the minor league level, Castro has been able to mitigate a lot of those free passes due to some solid strikeout rates and grounder rates that routinely sit above the 50% threshold. Over 596 1/3 minor league innings, Castro has a 3.47 ERA.
Between these decent numbers and a mid-90s fastball, Castro drew the Orioles’ interest, and he’ll now provide some extra bullpen depth for the surprise contenders. He’ll take the place of Sanders, who was himself a waiver claim off the Rays roster less than two weeks ago.
Sanders has yet to see any Major League action with the Orioles, so his big league resume consists of the 14 2/3 innings he tossed for Tampa Bay earlier this season. The 27-year-old’s first taste of the Show resulted in a very respectable 3.07 ERA. Pitching mostly as a reliever during his career, Sanders posted a 3.46 ERA and a 29.55% strikeout rate over 260 innings in the minor leagues.
However, his work at Triple-A this year has been a struggle, with Sanders delivering only a 6.19 ERA over 32 frames. Some back problems could be partially responsible, or perhaps Sanders had trouble adjusting to his first time being shuttled up and down between the minors and the Rays’ roster. Given his past track record, it would seem possible that another club might grab Sanders in yet another waiver claim.
Seems like an odd move to me. Both players are 27 years old and Sanders has posted much better results, career to date, than Castro has. Sanders has definitely struggled at AAA in 2022 so perhaps that played into their decision. I’d be surprised if another team doesn’t claim Sanders off of waivers. Sanders is a little small for the pitcher’s mound but he’s proven he can be effective.
@Dorothy; yes, agreed, odd to me too at first glance … That said, maybe the Os were surprised to see him as available? And grade him higher than Saunders? Mid 90s fastball with time in the show over the last 3 years. Saunders throws an 89 mph fastball and is a career minor leaguer.
Sanders AAA numbers aren’t great and his stuff is pretty average. This was probably a depth move. Hope sanders passes and we get to work with a reliever with better raw stuff.
I would hope Saunders does not pass, he is a young man.
Baltimore Castro is your problem now. Love the dude but he is awful. Also he charges like $50 for a cameo video of him
I’d charge $50 too if I played for Cleveland. Maybe the cheapest owners in sports
Churning for incremental improvements. If they stay in our system, we will make them better.
If not, best of luck.
We have a team full of these guys now playing their butts off !
Welcome in new dude
At the end of the day, this deal doesn’t move the dial much either way. We’re talking about swapping out pitchers who are probably ranked as #38 – #40 on their 40-man roster. Given how good Baltimore’s front office has been in evaluating talent lately, I guess you have to trust them that this move makes them a little better/deeper at the end of their 40-man roster. If not, they’ll continue to churn & burn until they find the right guy.
The Orioles have all of sudden become the model franchise on how to rebuild through the draft, waiver wire and trade deadline deals, all the while keeping their payroll extremely low. Who would have thought this would ever happen after multiple 100 loss seasons and seemingly no direction in the front office? Tip of the cap to Baltimore’s current front office. Baltimore, Toronto and Seattle will be MLB forces for years to come, so long as they avoid key injuries and pay their youngsters to stick around once they hit years 2-3 of arbitration and eventually free agency. Baltimore will have to open their checkbook sooner than later, but it will be worth it to keep this talented club together.
Who said the front office had no direction???? I mean they came out and said they were modeling what was done in Houston. That’s direction, so is starting a talent pipeline in international free agency. I’d say they had direction and it’s paying off big now
Before Ellis… we were a drift for 2 decades… yes we did very well 2012-2016… but did not sustain.. part poor roster building like we are doing now
Royals want to take a shot at Sanders?