After latest gaffes, Pirates option Rodolfo Castro to make room for OF Travis Swaggerty

The arrival of one Pittsburgh Pirates rookie came at the expense of another, as infielder Rodolfo Castro was optioned Sunday to Triple-A Indianapolis to make room on the roster for outfielder Travis Swaggerty one day after making a pair of costly gaffes against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Castro, 23, batted .197 (14 for 71) with two doubles, one triple, one home run and four RBIs in 21 games for the Pirates this season but committed five errors at shortstop and one at second base. He came off the bench to homer and have four RBIs in Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to clinch a three-game series sweep.

But Pirates manager Derek Shelton was critical of Castro’s effort on a pop fly in the second inning Saturday that dropped for a double play, calling it “not acceptable.” Castro also had an error in the sixth inning, when he bobbled a ball and made a throw that pulled Yu Chang off first base.

“I think there was a couple things that went into the decision,” Shelton said. “No. 1, I mean you guys all saw Rudy play. That (pop fly play) was an outlier. That was very uncharacteristic. This is a kid that plays with a ton of energy, plays hard all the time. I think he had a bad moment. So you know, it’s something we talked about and we moved on from, because that’s not Rudy Castro.”

Derek Shelton discusses the reasons behind optioning Rodolfo Castro to Triple-A, a day after the Pirates manager was critical of his effort on a pop fly that led to a costly double play. pic.twitter.com/VmbnpH23dH

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) June 5, 2022

The Pirates are expected to use rookie Tucupita Marcano, who has played mostly in the outfield, at second base. Fellow rookie Diego Castillo started at shortstop Sunday against the Diamondbacks at PNC Park.

Shelton emphasized that Castro requires development on both sides of the ball and would be better served working on those things at the Triple-A level instead of the majors.

“This is a kid with high energy that we like, and I think is going to be a really good major-league player for us,” Shelton said. “We need him to basically work on some things in Indy to clean those things up.”

Shelton said Castro will play second base, shortstop and third base at Indianapolis, noting that some of his errors were because of his unfamiliarity with playing shortstop and some because he “got a little too quick” in trying to field the ball and make plays.

“Something we need to continue to work on for his versatility. The other thing is, you make an error or two or you struggle at the big-league level, mentally it can wear on you a little bit. We might’ve seen a little bit of that with Rudy, in terms of the physical error side. But it’s something I think he’s going to be able to clean up. He’s a talented kid. It’s just right now we need to give him a breather and not be at the big-league level.”

Swaggerty, the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2018 (No. 10 overall), was expected to arrive just before the start of Sunday’s game. Swaggerty slashed .280/.362/.439 with five doubles, two triples, four home runs and 22 RBIs in 35 games at Indianapolis.

“He’s been swinging the bat really well,” Shelton said. “He’s been playing really well overall. Any time we can add a guy when they’re playing that well, it’s really important.

“Any time you add rookies, it’s fun. And we continue to add them, which speaks to the good job we’ve done in player development that we’re continuing to add guys that can help our major league team.”