ST. LOUIS – The Chicago Cubs today claimed right-handed pitcher Kervin Castro (pronounced kerr-VEEN) off waivers from the San Francisco Giants, and optioned him to Triple-A Iowa. Castro was designated for assignment by the Giants yesterday.
Castro, 23, has appeared in 12 major league games out of the bullpen with the Giants since making his debut in 2021, 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 season 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.
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.
