Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Back in Philadelphia on MiLB deal
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The Phillies re-signed Castro to a minor-league contract Wednesday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Castro was outrighted off the Phillies' 40-man roster earlier this month but has returned on a minors pact. The infielder missed the bulk of the 2024 season with shoulder and thumb injuries. The 25-year-old Castro sports a career .219/.292/.380 batting line over parts of three major-league seasons.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Sent outright to Triple-A
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The Phillies outrighted Castro (thumb) to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Castro missed much of the 2024 season due to injury, including a torn thumb ligament which ended his campaign. He slashed just .211/.282/.310 with Lehigh Valley this season.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Bumped to 60-day IL
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The Phillies recalled Castro (thumb) from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday and placed on the 60-day injured list, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Castro had already been ruled out for the season with a torn ligament in his right thumb, but his shift to the Phillies' 60-day IL opens up a spot on the 40-man roster for reliever Jose Cuas. The utility player didn't appear in a game for the Phillies in 2024 and slashed .211/.282/.310 in 78 plate appearances for Lehigh Valley before being shut down in August.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Out for season
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Castro was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right thumb Thursday and will miss the remainder of the season, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Castro has spent the entire season in the minors, although injuries limited him to playing just 20 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, during which he slashed .211/.282/.310 with seven RBI across 78 plate appearances. It's unclear if he will be ready to go for the start of spring training in 2025.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Returns from IL
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Castro (shoulder) has slashed .245/.327/.327 with one home run in 13 games since being reinstated from Triple-A Lehigh Valley's 60-day injured list July 23.
Castro had been on the shelf since April 3 due to the left shoulder injury before he was cleared to rejoin Lehigh Valley after completing a three-game rehab assignment shortly after the All-Star break. The 25-year-old infielder retains a spot on the Phillies' 40-man roster, but he hasn't appeared in the majors all season, and a promotion to Philadelphia wouldn't seem to be imminent.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Rehabbing from shoulder injury
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Castro (shoulder) began a rehab assignment Thursday and has gone 1-for-6 with a run scored and an RBI between two games in the rookie-level Florida Complex League and Single-A Clearwater.
After failing to win a spot on the Phillies' Opening Day roster, Castro was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley coming out of spring training. He appeared in just two games for Lehigh Valley before being placed on the 7-day injured list April 3 with left shoulder subscapular bursitis, per Tom Housenick of The Allentown Morning Call. Lehigh Valley later transferred Castro to its 60-day injured list, but since he's already missed more than two months with the injury, he'll be eligible for activation once he completes his rehab assignment.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Sent to minor-league camp
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The Phillies optioned Castro to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Tuesday.
Castro was a longshot to make the Phillies' Opening Day roster following the signing of Whit Merrifield, and the former's .646 OPS over 32 plate appearances during spring training didn't help his chances. The 24-year-old played in 92 games between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh last season but had a .211/.297/.322 slash line and 28.9 percent strikeout rate.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Base knock Tuesday
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Castro went 1-for-2 in Philadelphia's 3-2 loss to Baltimore on Tuesday.
Castro has tallied 16 plate appearances in eight spring training games to date as it's clear the team wants to give the infielder every opportunity to make the Opening Day roster. While he has accumulated considerable experience over three seasons in the majors, Castro's high strikeout rate limits his offensive potential. If Castro makes the roster, he figures to be positioned as the team's rotational utility infielder.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Optioned to rookie ball
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The Phillies optioned Castro to the Florida Complex League on Saturday.
Since joining the Phillies at the trade deadline, Castro has slashed just .100/.156/.100 across 32 plate appearances over 14 games. His poor performance will cost him his spot on Philadelphia's bench, and the team will bring up Weston Wilson from Triple-A to replace Castro.
The Phillies activated Castro ahead of Wednesday's game against the Marlins.
After he was acquired from the Pirates on Tuesday, Castro will end up taking the 40-man roster spot and 26-man active roster spot of Josh Harrison, who has been released by Philadelphia. Like Harrison before him, Castro projects to fill a utility infield role, though he'll bring more upside to the table than his veteran predecessor. The 24-year-old switch hitter wasn't able to stick as a full-time player in Pittsburgh, but he's still produced a 92 wRC+ over 595 plate appearances in the majors, a respectable mark for a player of his age.
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Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Traded to Philly
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Castro was traded from the Pirates to the Phillies on Tuesday in exchange for Bailey Falter, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Best known for crushing left-handed pitching (career .277/.341/.559 slash line in 223 plate appearances), Castro had been at Triple-A Indianapolis for the past couple weeks after hitting .228/.317/.355 overall for the Pirates this season, contributing to a minus-0.3 fWAR. Castro provides the Phillies with some infield versatility, as he can play second base, third base and shortstop.
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Pirates' Rodolfo Castro: Sent down to Triple-A
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The Pirates optioned Castro to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.
Castro's performance slipped in June and his playing time dried up, so he will head to the minors for the first time this season and attempt to get back on track with regular at-bats. The 24-year-old has a .228/.317/.355 line in 224 plate appearances with the big club this year, a step back from 2022. Andrew McCutchen (elbow) took Castro's spot on the active roster.
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Pirates' Rodolfo Castro: Sitting in fourth straight
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Castro is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
Castro is on the bench for a fourth straight game, and he doesn't look as though he'll be a major beneficiary of Ji Hwan Bae's (ankle) move to the injured list Sunday. Though Castro has the ability to play three infield spots, the Pirates appear to have at least temporarily settled on Nick Gonzales, Tucupita Marcano and Jared Triolo as their primary options at second base, shortstop and third base, respectivey.
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Pirates' Rodolfo Castro: Getting time at third base
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Castro went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored Tuesday against the Padres.
Castro has fallen into a bench role in recent weeks, though he's now started consecutive games at third base. The Pirates haven't announced an injury to Ke'Bryan Hayes, so it's unlikely that Castro maintains a consistent role. Even when given an opportunity, he's gone through significant struggles and maintained just a .185 average with four RBI and two runs scored across his last 54 at-bats.
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Pirates' Rodolfo Castro: Sitting again Sunday
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Castro is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Castro will take a seat for a third straight game and seems to have moved into the short side of a platoon with Ji Hwan Bae. With Castro on the bench, Bae will start at second base and bat seventh Sunday against Carlos Carrasco and the New York staff.
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Pirates' Rodolfo Castro: Riding pine Saturday
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Castro is out of Saturday's lineup against the Mets, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The Pirates are facing three righties this weekend against the Mets, and so far Castro has started on the bench in the first two games of the series. He had started nine of 10 games prior to this weekend, with four of those starts coming against righties, but lately Ji Hwan Bae has handled the keystone against righties.
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Pirates' Rodolfo Castro: Sitting against righty
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Castro is not in the lineup Friday against the Mets.
Ji Hwan Bae is starting at second base and batting seventh versus the Mets and right-hander Tylor Megill. The switch-hitting Castro has slashed just .193/.287/.217 in 94 plate appearances this season versus righties. He boasts a .364/.449/.712 slash line in 78 plate appearances versus lefties.
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Pirates' Rodolfo Castro: Homers, drives in three Wednesday
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Castro went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and three RBI in Wednesday's 9-5 loss against the Athletics.
Castro got Pittsburgh on the board with a solo shot off Hogan Harris in the second inning before driving in two more runs with a double in the fourth. Castro's been swinging a hot bat, going 10-for-27 (.370) over his last eight games. The 24-year-old Castro has earned a regular role between shortstop and second base in Pittsburgh. He's slashing .268/.360/.436 with six homers, 21 RBI and 17 runs scored through 172 plate appearances this season.
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Pirates' Rodolfo Castro: Playing time trending up
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Castro will start at second base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Cardinals, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Castro appeared to benefit from a spike in playing time last week while Carlos Santana was day-to-day with a spinal injury, but Castro nows finds himself in the lineup for the second time in three games alongside Santana. With two-hit efforts in three of his last four starts, Castro may have pushed himself back into a near-everyday role in the infield for the time being. Meanwhile, Ji Hwan Bae has made three of his last four starts in center field to create an opening for Castro at the keystone.
