Athletics sign former top-10 prospect Ryan Castellani

The A’s have signed right-hander Ryan Castellani, reports Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. Presumably, it’s a minor league deal that’ll include an invitation to big league spring training.

Castellani has appeared in the big leagues with the Rockies in each of the past two seasons, but the bulk of his experience came in 2020. He made 10 appearances (including nine starts) during last year’s truncated campaign, working to a 5.82 ERA/6.49 SIERA over 43 1/3 innings. Castellani pitched in just one big league game this year, tossing 3 1/3 frames of two-run ball during a May 4 victory over the Giants.

The past two seasons haven’t been kind to Castellani, who has also struggled mightily with the Rox’s top affiliate in Albuquerque. That’s among the most hitter-friendly environments in affiliated ball, though, and the 25-year-old comes with some decent prospect pedigree.

A former second-round pick, Castellani appeared among Baseball America’s top 10 Colorado farmhands entering each of the 2017, 2018 and 2020 campaigns. The sinkerballer has never missed many bats, but he posted solid walk and ground-ball numbers early in his professional tenure. He’s worked almost exclusively as a starter to this point, but it’s possible the A’s view him as rotation or long relief depth for 2022.