NY Mets sign other half of Yankees trade heist to a minor league deal

The New York Mets recently signed utility infielder Diego Castillo (not to be confused with the right-handed reliever of the same name). Castillo adds some middle infield depth the organization. However, he has an interesting history with another current Mets pitcher and their Opening Day starter, Clay Holmes.

Castillo was originally a New York Yankees prospect. He was traded alongside fellow utility man Hoy Park at the 2021 trade deadline for Holmes. Holmes would go on to become a two-time All-Star closer, before signing with the Mets this offseason. He is now slated to be the team’s Opening Day starter. Unfortunately, Park and Castillo’s 2021 minor league seasons have been the best years of either player’s careers thus far. The following season, in 2022, Castillo would get semi-regular playing time for the Pirates but did not hit well.

In 283 plate appearances across 96 games, Castillo slashed .206/.251/.382 with a .272 wOBA and 71 wRC+. He only walked in 4.9% of his plate appearances with a sub-par 26.5% K%. He showed off some pop, with 11 home runs, a .176 isolated slugging percentage, a 9.9% barrel rate, and 89.1 MPH exit velo, but this is about all the positives about his performance with the bat. He also saw playing time at all four infield positions, along with a handful of games in right field.

Mets sign utility infielder Diego Castillo, who has an interesting connection to their Opening Day pitcher.

But this is the extent of his Major League playing time. He’s appeared in five games since, one with the Arizona Diamondbacks, whom the Pirates traded him to after the 2022 season, and then four more with the Minnesota Twins last year, collecting just nine plate appearances. This also is not Castillo’s first stint with the New York Mets.

Last offseason, the Mets claimed Castillo off waivers from the Diamondbacks on January fifth. However, he’d last just two weeks in the organization before he was claimed off waivers once again, this time by the New York Yankees for his second stint there. He’d also get selected off waivers by the Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles before the Twins purchased his contract from the O’s in early April, meaning he was a part of six different organizations in 2024.

Castillo spent most of 2024 at Triple-A, where he turned in a .261/.364/.397 triple-slash across 370 plate appearances. Although he walked at a healthy 13.4% rate and also struck out in just 14.9% of his plate appearances, Castillo did not hit for much power. He only went yard nine times with a .136 ISO. Overall, the utility man had a respectable .348 wOBA and 103 wRC+.

Castillo will likely report to Triple-A Syracuse as a depth piece. According to FanGraphs’ roster resource, the Mets’ top Triple-A options at second base and shortstop are Donovan Walton and Luis De Los Santos. Luisangel Acuna will likely open the year on the Major League roster in a platoon with Brett Baty at second base until Jeff McNeil is healthy again (oblique). Castillo helps bring some depth to a position the Mets recently had an injury at.