Orioles Claim Anthony Castro Off Waivers from the Guardians

This season has been one of great success for the Baltimore Orioles. Even still, this is a year of waiver claims. On Saturday, the Orioles claimed right-handed pitcher Anthony Castro off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians. Like most waiver claims this season, he has been immediately optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

As most transactions do, this move comes with a cost. Phoenix Sanders, who was another recent waiver claim, was designated for assignment by the Orioles. Sanders never got to pitch for the Orioles in his brief stint on the 40-man roster, instead staying in Norfolk. As is customary with my other waiver addition posts, let’s get to know Castro.

Baltimore Orioles claim Anthony Castro off waivers from Cleveland Guardians

We’ll get started with Castro’s pitch arsenal. He features a four-pitch mix as a reliever. He throws a slider, four-seam fastball, sinker, and a changeup. The slider is the most frequently used pitch, being thrown 48.5 percent of the time. The fastball is next at 39.6 percent, followed by the sinker at 9.6 percent, and the changeup at just 2.3 percent.

Castro joins the Orioles in the middle of his second full season of big league experience. So far this season, he has a 7.43 ERA, 2.175 WHIP, and 8.45 FIP. Castro has allowed 11 earned runs and struck out 12 hitters, throwing 13 1/3 innings in 12 relief appearances this season. His last big league action was a scoreless inning back in July.

Castro’s major league career has been with the Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, and the Guardians. Castro pitched just one game for Detroit in 2020, before appearing in 25 games with Toronto, and 12 this season. He has a career 6.00 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, and 5.87 FIP, throwing 39 innings in 38 total appearances.

As a younger major leaguer with little experience, Castro doesn’t show up on a lot of advanced metrics, only being measured in three. At least those three are in his favor. His fastball velocity is in the 73rd percentile, according to Baseball Savant. Additionally, his fastball spin ranks in the 86th percentile, and his extension is in the 81st percentile.

The addition of Castro is a simple depth move for the Baltimore Orioles. He might not make much of an impact this season, and he’s ineligible for the postseason roster because he was added after September 1. But he’s got several years of team control remaining, as he isn’t scheduled to hit free agency until after the 2026 season. The Orioles have turned around Austin Voth, and the hope is that they can do the same with Castro.