ST. LOUIS – The Chicago Cubs today recalled right-handed pitcher Kervin Castro (pronounced kerr-VEEN) from Triple-A Iowa.
Castro, 23, was claimed off waivers from the San Francisco Giants and optioned to Triple-A Iowa yesterday. He appeared in 12 major league games out of the bullpen with the Giants between the 2021-22 seasons, going 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA (5 ER/15.0 IP). The righthander allowed only one unearned run in 10 appearances (13.1 IP) in 2021. He has split the 2022 campaign between San Francisco and Triple-A Sacramento, pitching in two games for the Giants (5 ER/1.2 IP) and 29 games for the River Cats, going 0-4 with a 5.57 ERA (20 ER/32.1 IP) and 32 strikeouts. Castro was designated for assignment by San Francisco on Monday.
The six-foot Castro was signed by the Giants as an international free agent on July 2, 2015, converting from a catcher to pitcher prior to signing. He missed the majority of the 2017 and 2018 seasons due to Tommy John surgery, but enjoyed a breakout season in 2019, going 5-3 with a 2.66 ERA (20 ER/67.2 IP) in 14 starts for Single-A Salem-Keizer, garnering Northwest League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star honors.
Castro, a Maracay, Venezuela native, entered the 2022 season ranked as the Giants’ No. 18 prospect per Baseball America and No. 19 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. All told, Castro has gone 14-9 with a 3.52 ERA (65 ER/166.0 IP) and one save in 87 career minor league games (14 starts), averaging 9.8 strikeouts per 9.0 IP and allowing only nine home runs in 699 batters faced.
