Rays Acquire Chargois From Seattle in Deal for Castillo
Updated 8:40 p.m. The Rays made their third trade this month on Thursday, acquiring righty reliever J.T. Chargois from Seattle as well as infield prospect Austin Shenton in exchange for Diego Castillo.
The 30-year-old Chargois had struck out 29 and walked only six in 30 innings this year for the Mariners, covering 31 appearances. Overall, he was 1–0 with 3.30 ERA. Chargois also had been effective against both righties (.651 OPS) and lefties (.559 OPS). Chargois had been a fastball/slider pitcher with a fastball that this year averaged 95.8 miles per hour.
The Rays Erik Neander said multiple times in a conference call on Thursday night that they were awfully high on Chargois and believe he will be an immediate key contributor to the team’s bullpen.
“(He) doesn’t have Diego’s track record,” said Neander. “(But) where he is right now, the fastball, the sinker, the wipeout slider, we’re pretty excited about what’s ahead for him.”
Shenton is a big part of the deal too, as the Washington native, a fifth round pick in 2019 out of Florida International University, had just recently moved up to Double-A Arkansas. In 67 games between High-A and Double-A, Shenton had hit .300 with 12 homers, 61 RBI and a .980 OPS this season. Baseball America already ranked Shenton as the number 12 prospect in the Mariners system in their updated rankings.
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“Some feel for contact, some feel for power,” said Neander. “(He) has a pretty good chance to be a big league contributor and not really far off from doing that.”
Castillo led the Rays in saves with 14, and was 2–4 with a 2.72 ERA in 37 appearances with a higher strikeout rate (49 in 36.1 innings). However, Castillo was used more often against right-handed heavy lineups and lesser left-hand batters. In addition, Castillo’s slider usage had increased to a career high 70 percent this season. Meanwhile, his fastball velocity averaged 95.0 miles per hour. While still good, it was still well below his average of 98.3 just two seasons ago.
Neander says Castillo’s contributions and the entirety of his story make it difficult to make a move like this. Castillo was signed as a 20-year-old out of a tryout camp in the Dominican Republic.
“The moments he’s had,” said Neander of what made Castillo special. “As good a person and a professional as anybody.”
Over parts of four seasons, Castillo was 14–14 with a 2.99 ERA (183.1-IP) in 167 appearances (17 opens). Last postseason, Castillo went 1–0 with a 1.64 ERA in 10 appearances (11.2 IP) and was the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the American League Division Series over the New York Yankees.
