Rays place reliever Diego Castillo on COVID IL

The Rays selected right-hander Louis Head, placed righty Diego Castillo on the COVID-19 injured list and recalled RHP Chris Mazza, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to report.

This is a nice birthday present for Head, who turned 31 Friday. He was a 15th-round pick of the Indians back in 2012, but he hasn’t thrown a single major league pitch to this point. Head, who most recently pitched in the Dodgers’ system, has logged a solid 3.67 ERA in 410 minor league innings. However, he has struggled at the Triple-A level, where he owns a 5.46 ERA over 90 2/3 frames.

Before going on the IL, the 27-year-old Castillo was in the midst of yet another strong season. Through 9 2/3 innings, Castillo has posted a 2.79 ERA with six hits allowed and 13 strikeouts against three walks, and he leads the Rays with four saves in six chances. Jeffrey Springs and Trevor Richards are the only other Rays with saves this year.