The Astros are in agreement with reliever Miguel Castro, as first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 specifies that it’s a minor league contract with a non-roster Spring Training invite. Castro, a client of Premier Talent Sports and Entertainment, would lock in a $1.5MM base salary if he makes the MLB roster, according to Alexander.
Castro, who turned 30 last week, is aiming to pitch his way onto an MLB roster for an 11th straight year. The well-traveled righty has suited up for six different teams. Castro carries a 4.20 earned run average in nearly 500 MLB innings. He’d generally posted an ERA in the low-4.00s, including a 4.31 mark through an NL-high 75 appearances for the Diamondbacks in 2023. That triggered a $5MM vesting option for the ’24 season.
That didn’t work out well for Arizona. Shoulder inflammation sent Castro to the injured list midway through April. He was shelved until the All-Star Break. Castro made 11 appearances and surrendered nine runs over 13 2/3 innings. Arizona designated him for assignment just before the trade deadline. They released him at the start of August. Castro spent the rest of the season in free agency.
Houston has a thin relief group that should give Castro a real chance to earn a roster spot out of camp. Josh Hader, Bryan Abreu and (barring a late-offseason trade) Ryan Pressly will be at the back end. Tayler Scott is out of options and pitched well enough to lock down a middle relief job. That leaves as many as four spots up for grabs. Even if the Astros bring in a veteran on a low-cost MLB deal, Castro could vie with Shawn Dubin, Forrest Whitley and Kaleb Ort for low-leverage work.
Hard to believe Castro is just barely 30. Seems like forever ago that he was part of the Rockies return from Toronto when they traded Tulo.
None of the 4 players was any good with the Rockies, but Jeff Hoffman has finally turned into a pretty good reliever.
Of course Tulo didn’t have great success with Toronto, so you can’t really say the Rockies lost the trade.
Tulo trade is a straight wash for both teams. It got the jays into the playoffs and out from under the Reyes contract. That was a crazy year for the jays as Castro broke into the league, all spring it was all about how these 2 20 year old kids in Castro and Osuna were so dominant. Turns out neither really became great and outta the 2 Osuna had the better career even though he’s been outta the league for a bit and in general a PoS
Osuna was a horrible person, but he was a great pitcher. In no way did he ever underperform on the mound. He just ended up having to take the Trevor Bauer route and go dominate Mexico and Japan.
Osuna was great, absolutely. He just sucks as a person.
Remember how this guy ended up in a high-leverage spot in the WS in 2023 and gave up a walk-off? That ’23 D-backs team was something else.
Kaleb Ort, there’s a name that brings back PTSD…
Hardest to hit Astros in the pen:
1. Hader – .171 Avg
2. Ort – .180
3. Scott – .188
4. Abreu – .207
5. King – .211
Sousa also in the mix.
The Astros have a real propensity for making pitchers better. Good career move by Castro.
They also have a real propensity for those pitchers’ arms falling off immediately after getting better.
@ Topics- Pitcher injuries are definitely on the rise. I wouldn’t say that Houston’s rate is any greater than baseball as a whole. Didn’t seem to hurt Presley, Cole or Charlie Morton. I think the thing that is really doing the most damage is the focus on velo
Veli and spin rate are both issues. Pitchers today overthrow be it too hard or trying for that “nasty” natural pitch. Doing to the body what is “unnatural” is what causes the injuries. With so much money at stake, it will continue to get worse as parents continue to look for that edge to get their kids into college. Right now likeness money is mainly for football and basketball but it won’t be long before baseball becomes a prime sport as well. Congress needs to address and call college sports professional as those athletes changing schools faster than they change underwear is ridiculous.
The issue with Castro is that he has no control over anything he throws. With his wind up, he slingshots it in. I don’t understand why an MLB coach has yet to correct his motion. It just goes to show that having the ability to throw 98-99 mph doesn’t equate to being a successful pitcher
Buyer beware.
I hear the Blue Jays were in on Castro right to the end, they made a competitive offer.
Another chucker not a pitcher.