The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signing of catcher Austin Hedges on Tuesday afternoon. They needed to make a corresponding move on the 40-man roster to open up a spot, but didn’t announce one right away. According to the team’s transaction page, infielder Diego Castillo has been designated for assignment.
Castillo was part of the deal to acquire Clay Holmes from the New York Yankees during the 2021 season. He debuted in the majors in 2022, and spent most of the season with the Pirates. The 25-year-old hit .206/.251/.382 in 96 games, with 13 doubles, 11 homers, a 26.5% strikeouts rate and a 4.9% walk rate.
Castillo mostly played shortstop coming up through the minors. The Pirates gave him a decent amount of time at shortstop, second base and right field, along with turns at first base.
This winter in Venezuela, the Pirates asked Castillo to use the whole field more at the plate, while also hoping he could get more work at different positions. He mostly played shortstop while putting up a .342 average and a 1.001 OPS in 22 games.
