The Giants announced tonight they’ve designated reliever Kervin Castro for assignment. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for minor league catcher Ford Proctor, who was acquired in a trade with the Rays.
Castro, 23, has reached the majors in each of the past two seasons. He made ten appearances with the big league club last year and two more this season, working a combined 15 innings. He’s allowed six runs (five earned) over that stretch, striking out a solid 25.4% of batters faced on a lofty 13.9% swinging strike rate. Despite showing some promise in his limited big league time, he’s had a much tougher go of things in Triple-A Sacramento this year.
Through 32 1/3 frames at the minors top level, the righty owns a 5.57 ERA. His strikeout rate is down a few points relative to his big league mark, but the more concerning aspect is that he’s doled out free passes at a massive 15.9% clip. Those control issues eventually squeezed Castro off the roster entirely.
San Francisco can trade him over the next few hours, but the likelier outcome is he winds up on waivers. Between his pair of remaining minor league option years and mid-90s fastball, it stands to reason another club might roll the dice in hopes of adding an effective bullpen depth piece. Baseball America recently rated Castro as the #22 prospect in the San Francisco farm system, praising the downhill action on his low-80s curveball.
