Baltimore Orioles Add Depth After Claiming Phillies Infielder Off Waivers
Adding depth is never a bad thing for Major League Baseball teams, something the Baltimore Orioles are all too familiar with at this point in the offseason.
With Kyle Bradish hitting the injured list to begin the year, there is some concern surrounding the franchise about what their rotation might look like if he misses an extended period of time.
That’s why moves, no matter how small, can become important in the grand scheme of things.
General manager Mike Elias has been known to make savvy acquisitions by getting seemingly unwanted players into their organization and developing them into solid pieces.
He just made a move like this after Roch Kubatko of MASN reported the Orioles claimed infielder Diego Castillo off waivers.
The 26-year-old has had quite the offseason this year, having been claimed by three different teams before being designated for assignment.
His most recent stint was with the Philadelphia Phillies before Baltimore pounced after he was DFA’d.
Castillo was heavily used by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2022, making his debut and playing in 96 games, but he struggled at the plate with a slash line of .206/.251/.382. He hit 11 homers and drove in 26 runs, but finished with an OPS+ of 77.
They shipped him to the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he only appeared in one Major League game for them last year.
Still, he’s shown the ability to hit in the minors, slashing .313/.431/.410 with three home runs and 72 RBI across 124 Triple-A games during 2023.
It’s unlikely that he will be used by the Orioles at the Major League level this year, but as these recent injuries have shown, depth in the organization is important in case health becomes a big issue.