ICYMI: Pirates deal Diego Castillo to Diamondbacks

While everyone was anticipating the annual blockbuster trade during the holiday weekend, Ben Cherington, instead, made a minor trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On Friday, the Bucs dealt infielder Diego Castillo to the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Scott Randall. Castillo came to Pittsburgh along with the now-departed Hoy Park in the Clay Holmes trade in July 2021.

The trade comes just days after Castillo was designated for assignment.

After shining during Spring Training, Castillo was given a spot on the team’s Opening Day roster and quickly impressed fans with a five-game hitting streak from April 9 to 16.

He finished his inaugural month slashing .259/.281/.333, a respectable mark for a rookie. This run of success, however, would be short-lived.

Over the next two months, Castillo would fall into a catastrophic slump, hitting just .190 at the end of June. He was optioned to Triple-A on July 21 and stayed there until September 12, when he was recalled for the final month of the season.

Despite surging with Indianapolis through August, Castillo’s struggles at the Major League level continued after his promotion in September.

Randall, 24, made it as far as High-A with the Diamondbacks’ organization, throwing 108.1 innings in 21 starts last year. He compiled a 3.82 ERA and walked just five percent of hitters faced.

In short, Castillo netted a similar return to what Park got from the Boston Red Sox.