Monday’s trade deadline arrived with the Orioles dealing another veteran member of their bullpen.
General manager Mike Elias traded right-handed reliever Miguel Castro to the New York Mets in exchange for minor league pitcher Kevin Smith and a player to be named later or cash considerations shortly before the 4 p.m. deadline. Castro became the third Baltimore reliever to be traded this month, joining lefty Richard Bleier and right-hander Mychal Givens.
Acquired from Colorado early in the 2017 season, the 25-year-old Castro spent most of his four years in Baltimore serving in middle relief, posting a 4.06 ERA and striking out 7.1 batters per nine innings over 241 2/3 frames. Despite having a high-90s fastball and a slider with good movement, Castro struggled to miss bats during much of his time with the Orioles, but he’s struck out 24 batters to go along with a 4.02 ERA in 15 2/3 innings this season, making him an attractive piece to the Mets.
Smith, 23, was ranked the No. 12 prospect in the Mets organization by MLB Pipeline and was a seventh-round pick in the 2018 draft out of the University of Georgia. The lefty began the 2019 campaign with Single-A St. Lucie, posting a 3.05 ERA and striking out 10.7 batters per nine innings while walking 2.5 in 85 2/3 innings. Smith was promoted to Double-A Binghamton later in the season and pitched to a 3.45 ERA while averaging 8.0 strikeouts and 4.3 walks per nine over 31 1/3 innings.
Including the late July trade of Hector Velazquez as well as this month’s deals involving Bleier, Tommy Milone, Givens, and Castro, the Orioles have now acquired six players to be named later in addition to Smith and minor league infielders Terrin Navra and Tyler Nevin.
