SAD MOMENT :Players for the Philadelphia Phillies express sorrow over their legendary move to…
Dave Dombrowski’s headline move at the deadline was the acquisition of Michael Lorenzen, but he also made an odd trade that went unnoticed, sending the struggling Bailey Falter to Pittsburgh in exchange for Rodolfo Castro.
Castro had an extremely difficult time during his brief tenure with the Phillies, and the fit never made much sense. In his thirty at-bats with the team, he managed just three hits. He was an uncommon sight on the pitch. With six strikeouts in his first 12 at-bats, he started his Phillies career hitless.
Castro’s 227 at-bats with the Pirates and Phillies this season produced a.619 OPS, which was not good enough to get him on the postseason roster.
Because of the type of hitter Castro has always been, the deal seemed unusual. Castro is a switch-hitter, but his advantage against lefties is far greater than his advantage versus righties. Castro’s career OPS against left-handed pitchers is.858, which is rather high. That drops to.557 against righties. It is a 300-point difference. The Phillies already had two extremely good left-handed pitchers on their roster: Cristian Pache filled in as an outfield substitute versus lefties, and Edmundo Sosa.
Castro will probably be held around longer than the others because he can be optioned and isn’t yet in arbitration.
