The New York Mets made a couple of trades right before the 4:00 p.m. deadline, as they tried to bolster the roster for a playoff push. In need of some bullpen help, New York swung a deal with the Baltimore Orioles to acquire veteran reliever Miguel Castro.
In exchange for Castro, the Mets sent top pitching prospect Kevin Smith to Baltimore along with PTBNL or cash according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Castro is a towering reliever at 6-foot-7, featuring a sinker that averages 97.5 mph. The 25-year-old has a career 4.30 ERA and has struck out 22o batters in 274 innings. This season, Castro has pitched to a 4.02 ERA and is striking out more batters than ever with 24 K’s in 15 2/3 inning pitched. His K/9 rate of 13.8 would be the best mark of his career.
Acquiring Castro came at a great cost, as the Mets sent last year’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year to Baltimore in Smith. The 23-year-old won the organization’s award coming off a season in which he pitched to a 3.15 ERA across 23 starts. Smith spent the season split between High-A in Port St. Lucie and Double-A with Binghamton.
Smith was drafted in the 7th round in 2018 and was ranked as the Mets No. 12 prospect by MLB.com.
