Pirates trade INF Rodolfo Castro to Phillies for LHP Bailey Falter

The Pirates made an 11th-hour deal before the trade deadline that is sure to raise eyebrows, sending 24-year-old utility infielder Rodolfo Castro to the Philadelphia Phillies for left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter.

Falter, 26, was 8-12 with a 4.56 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 158 innings over 50 appearances, including 24 starts, while allowing 28 home runs over three seasons for the Phillies. The 6-foot-4, 175-pounder was 0-7 with a 5.13 ERA, 28 strikeouts against eight walks in 40 1/3 innings over eight appearances this season.

The switch-hitting Castro made major-league history as a rookie, when his first five hits all went for home runs. Castro showed pop by hitting 22 homers over 180 games in three seasons.

But Castro struggled with immaturity issues, fielding errors and hitting right-handed pitching. He was demoted in early June 2022 after failing to run out a pop up that dropped for a double play, then went viral upon his return in August when his cell phone fell out of his back pocket while sliding into third base, which drew a one-game suspension from MLB.

“Rudy’s a really talented young player. I think Rudy’s going to find success in the big leagues in the future. We like him, personally, a lot,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “Falter really is a guy we’ve had our eyes on for a while. Left-handed pitcher, strike thrower, deceptive, pitched on a big stage, pitched with a good team, pitched in a tough pitcher’s park in Philly. PNC is a nice park for a lefty with his style. We’ve always kind of felt like he was going to be a good fit for our team and our ballpark and have asked the Phillies about him a number of times over the last couple years. So that was the biggest thing.”

Castro was called upon to replace the injured Kevin Newman at shortstop in 2022 and Oneil Cruz there this season but committed 12 errors in 40 games at the position. Castro had 28 total errors for the Pirates while also playing second and third base.

Castro was batting .228/.317/.355 in 78 games for the Pirates this season when he was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on July 16. He fared even worse at Indy, hitting .192 (10 for 52) with two doubles, two homers and 10 RBIs in 12 games, and got buried on the depth chart behind middle infielders Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero, Alika Williams and the injured Ji Hwan Bae and Tucupita Marcano.

“With Rodolfo, I think it’s really just the maturation of the whole infield group and looking where we’re going forward, both the guys who are currently here on the 26-man, on our 40-man, likely to be on our 40-man soon,” Cherington said. “Really considering the overall infield depth and opportunity to add a left-handed starter. We didn’t come into the deadline looking to trade Rudy or anything like that. Just felt an opportunity to get a left-handed starter we like and you have to give up something.”