Diamondbacks Acquire Infielder Diego Castillo from Pittsburgh

The team adds more right-handed infield depth.

The Diamondbacks made two trades today, the first one has been officially announced, the second has not as of this writing. They acquired utility infielder Diego Castillo from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor league right-hander Scott Randall. In order to clear room on the 40-man roster, right-hander Taylor Widener has been designated for assignment.

Castillo, 25, originally signed as an international free agent with the New York Yankees in 2014. He was traded at the deadline to the Pirates in 2021 in exchange for Clay Holmes. His power had just started to develop that year as he combined to hit 19 home runs between the two teams across Double-A and Triple-A.  

He made Pittsburgh's Opening Day roster in 2022, but after hitting just .201/.246/.368 through July 30th, despite 10 home runs, he was demoted back to Triple-A. He hit much better when recalled on September 12th, batting .261/.308/.522 the rest of the way in part-time play. Castillo played seven positions last season, seeing action at shortstop (32 games/30 starts), second base (28 G/18 GS), right field (22 G/18 GS), first base (7 G/3 GS), third base (4 G/1 GS), designated hitter (1 G/1 GS) and pitcher (2 G). He rated average at shortstop but below average at the other positions in defensive runs saved. 

The right-handed batter hit .239/.281/.507, .788 OPS against left-handed pitching but only .167/.215/.233, .448 OPS against righties. That gives Arizona some extra right-handed depth on the infield, either as a potential platoon partner with Josh Rojas at third base or spell guys elsewhere on the infield. In the event they need to send him to Triple-A, Castillo has two options remaining.

Randall, 24, was taken by the Diamondbacks in the seventh round of the 2021 draft. In two minor league seasons he had a 8-7 record and a  3.32 ERA between Hillsboro and Visalia.  

Widener struggled to establish himself in the major leagues, but with a fastball that touches the mid 90's and a decent slider there is a good chance he won't clear waivers.