The Pittsburgh Pirates added minor leaguer Diego Castillo to their 40-man roster Sunday, preventing the 24-year-old infielder acquired at the trade deadline from becoming a free agent.
To make room for Castillo, the Pirates designated right-handed pitcher Jose Soriano for assignment.
Castillo was acquired from the New York Yankees, along with infielder Hoy Park, in exchange for right-handed reliever Clay Holmes in late July. In 28 games with Double-A Altoona, Castillo batted .282/.342/.445 with three doubles, five home runs and 16 RBIs. In 18 games with Triple-A Indianapolis, he batted .278/.444/.500 with three doubles, three homers and seven RBIs.
The Pirates selected Soriano, 23, from the Los Angeles Angels with the No. 1 pick of the Rule 5 Draft last December while he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Ranked the Pirates’ No. 10 prospect by Baseball America and No. 12 by MLB Pipeline, Soriano suffered a setback that required revision surgery in mid-June that is expected to sideline him for the next 12-14 months, making it a low-risk move.
