Rangers Sign Red-Hot Venezuelan Hitter on Minor League Deal

Castillo has played six different positions in the minor leagues — all four infield positions and both corner outfield positions. In 10 minor league seasons in the U.S., he slashed .273/.348/.377 with 49 home runs and 398 RBI. He spent the 2025 season at Triple-A, so it’s likely he lands with Round Rock once he’s ready to play. That makes him stand-by depth for the Rangers as he has 101 Major League games on his ledger.

He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played 96 of his 101 career games. He slashed .206/.251/.382 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI. He played 32 games at shortstop, 28 games at second base and 22 games in right field.

The Pirates traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks before the 2023 season, where he only played in one game for the Diamondbacks while spending the rest of the season at Triple-A Reno. Arizona designated him for assignment that January.

Before the 2004 season began, he was picked up and waived by four different teams — the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Baltimore Orioles. The O’s traded him to the Minnesota Twins after he cleared waivers. He played eight games with the Twins before he was waived. He spent 2025 in the Mets and Kansas City Royals organizations but was not called up.

The 28-year-old signed with the New York Yankees in July of 2015 as an international free agent out of Barquisimeto, Venezuela. He spent the next six seasons with the Yankees, reaching their Double-A affiliate before he was traded to the Pirates in 2021 in a deal that led to New York acquiring pitcher Clay Holmes.