Rangers Add Intriguing Reliever On Low-Risk Deal

The Texas Rangers were crowned World Series champions just a couple of months ago.

That doesn’t mean, however, that they don’t have to improve their roster or try to find low-risk alternatives to shore up their depth.

With that in mind, they executed a potentially important transaction with minimal risk.

“Rangers Sign Diego Castillo To Minor League Deal,” MLB Trade Rumors tweeted.

Castillo was one of the most reliable relievers from 2018 to 2022.

Most of those years were spent as the closer of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Castillo was traded to the Seattle Mariners in 2021.

To see a pitcher with his resume (3.22 career ERA, 1.10 WHIP in 268.1 innings) being signed to a minor league deal is certainly shocking.

However, it can be explained by his poor 2023 campaign.

He had a 6.23 ERA in 8.2 innings of work for Seattle early in the year.

As a result, the organization had no choice but to outright him off the roster in early May.

He spent most of the year in Triple-A, and there, his issues continued.

He had a 5.13 ERA in 47.1 innings of work there.

After the season, the right-handed groundball artist became a minor league free agent back in October.

That means the Rangers will get to bring him to spring training without having to guarantee him a roster spot.

He will have to earn one, and to do that, he will need to show he can consistently throw strikes again.

There is absolutely no risk in bringing in Castillo, and the reward could be significant.