This article is part of a series of player reviews for the 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a surprising and marvelous year for the team as they won 84 games to make the postseason. They advanced all the way to Game Five of the World Series before bowing out to the Texas Rangers. There are 54 players in all that had at least one at-bat or pitched at least one inning for the team this past season. They are being presented in reverse order of their aWAR (average WAR-Wins Above Replacement) produced, which is the average of Baseball Reference and Fangraphs WAR. These are their season stories.
Diego Castillo is a 25-year-old infielder that was able to sneak into one game for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. He appeared as a pinch hitter on July 31st against the Giants in which he went 0-1. After that, he was sent back to Triple-A to play for the Reno Aces whom he had played with all season prior to late July. Castillo was originally acquired by the D-backs from the Pittsburgh Pirates with whom he made his MLB debut for in 2022. He was traded for minor league pitcher Scott Randall.
The versatile infielder is capable of playing third, second, or shortstop. He can play left field as well. However, his bat isn't good enough to allow him to stay at just one position long-term. He's a utility player that provides decent play at a multitude of positions. In the hitter's paradise that is Reno, Castillo hit .313/.431/.410/.840 which was merely okay considering the lack of power that he displayed. The best part of his season was that he walked 97 times to just 79 strikeouts. That's something the Diamondbacks want their players to be good at, managing the strike zone.
2024 Status and Outlook:
Castillo is entering his age-26 season and is still on the D-backs 40-man roster. There's the possibility that he's a late bloomer that can still break out. However, the odds are that he is one of the first players that will be removed from the 40-man roster should the D-backs require room on it. Plus, it isn't certain how well he fits on the current roster considering that one of Jordan Lawlar or Geraldo Perdomo will be a utility/bench player sooner than later. Castillo isn't eligible for free agency until 2029.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have enviable depth compared to a lot of other MLB teams, but it remains to be seen if that depth will crowd out Castillo. Regardless, Diego Castillo should continue to be a prominent depth option for the D-backs or another MLB team.
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