BALTIMORE -- The Orioles made their third pitching acquisition in two days, acquiring right-handed reliever Miguel Castro from the Rockies on Friday night and optioning him to Double-A Bowie.
Castro joins pitchers Edwin Jackson and Andrew Faulkner as new O's arms, with Baltimore adding some more pitching depth to its Minor League system with hopes of giving itself a lot of options to bring back and forth.
"We are talking about controllable, optionable, not on the roster guys. And all three are different," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "It's kind of who we are and who we've been. That's the commodity that is the separator, and if you can acquire it, I think it really shows you how much confidence Dan [Duquette] and all of us do in our player development system. ... I feel real comfortable putting those guys in the environment I know they'll be put in.
"These guys all have dents in their armor, just like everyone does, and it's about smoothing those out while giving great respect to those people who tried to do the same thing."
Castro battled shoulder injuries and inconsistency last year, and after a difficult Spring Training (0-1, 15.75 ERA, five walks in four innings), he was designated for assignment.
When healthy, Castro can throw a four-seam and two-seam fastball in the 95-97 mph range. Castro is in his final year of having Minor League options, and he was a candidate to make the Rockies' squad before this spring, when he could not right himself once flaws crept into his delivery during an outing.
Castro began the 2015 season, at age 20, as the Blue Jays' closer, and he went 0-2 with a 4.38 ERA and four saves in 13 games. But he spent time in the Minors before being sent to the Rockies, for whom he finished the year with five relief appearances (0-1, 10.13 ERA).
Last year, Castro yielded just one run in six April appearances but was placed on the 15-day disabled list April 22 with right shoulder inflammation. He bounced between the Majors and Triple-A Albuquerque for the rest of the year, and he had problems being available for an extended period or throwing consistent strikes.
To clear room on the 40-man roster for Castro, the Orioles designated pitcher Joe Gunkel.