José Gregorio Castillo Tovar (born January 10, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

and

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2018.

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

Castillo signed with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on July 6, 2012. He spent under two seasons playing for Tampa Bay's minor league affiliates.

San Diego Padres

The Rays traded Castillo, Wil Myers,

Ryan Hanigan Ryan Michael Hanigan (born August 16, 1980) is an American baseball manager and former catcher who is the manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters in the MLB Draft League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Tampa ...

and Gerardo Reyes to the

in exchange for

René Rivera René Rivera (born July 31, 1983) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Los Ange ...

Burch Smith Burch Taylor Smith (born April 12, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, ...

and Jake Bauers on December 19, 2014. Castillo was selected as a member of the

Venezuela national baseball team The Venezuela national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Venezuela'' or ''Selección de Venezuela)'' is the national team of Venezuela. It is currently ranked third in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, b ...

at the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts wer ...

. After the 2017 season, the Padres added Castillo to their 40-man roster to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Castillo was called up and made his major league debut on June 2, 2018, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning with 3 strikeouts that night, including strikeouts of

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

all-star sluggers

Joey Votto Joseph Daniel Votto (born September 10, 1983) is a Canadian-American former professional baseball first baseman who spent his entire 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Cincinnati Reds from 2007 to 2023. He was the second Canad ...

and Eugenio Suárez. He ended the season 3–3 with an ERA of 3.29 in 37 games. In innings, he struck out 52 batters. Castillo began the 2019 season on the 60-day

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

due to a left flexor strain. He only pitched in 2/3 of an inning for the Padres in 2019, allowing no runs and striking out two, before suffering an injury to his left middle finger and ending the season on the 60-day injured list. Due to the

2020 MLB season The 2020 Major League Baseball season began on July 23 and ended on September 27 with only 60 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The full 162-game regular season was planned to begin on March 26, but the pandemic caused Major League Baseball (M ...

being shortened to 60 games because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Castillo ended up missing the entire season due to a left lat strain and a torn ligament in his hand. On March 4, 2021, it was announced that Castillo would require

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

after exiting a simulated game on March 2 because of forearm tightness. On March 6, Castillo was placed on the 60-day injured list. On November 30, 2021, Castillo was non-tendered by the Padres, making him a free agent. On January 14, 2022, he re-signed with the Padres. He had his contract selected on August 23. On November 18, Castillo signed a one-year contract with the Padres, avoiding arbitration. Castillo began the 2023 season with the Triple–A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

. In 22 contests for El Paso, he struggled to a 9.82 ERA with 22 strikeouts and 2 saves in innings pitched. In his only appearance for San Diego, he only recorded one out while surrendering four runs on two hits and two walks with no strikeouts. On July 20, 2023, Castillo was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

following Robert Suárez's activation from the injured list.

Miami Marlins

On July 25, 2023, Castillo was traded to the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

in exchange for cash considerations. On August 10, he was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in th ...

. In 14 games for Jacksonville, he posted a 5.59 ERA with 26 strikeouts in innings pitched. On October 5, Castillo elected free agency.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 27, 2023, Castillo signed a minor league contract with the

. He made 21 appearances for the Triple–A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

in 2024, compiling a 4.35 ERA with 21 strikeouts across innings pitched. Castillo elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2024. On November 27, 2024, Castillo re–signed with the Diamondbacks on a new minor league contract. He began the 2025 season with Triple-A Reno, recording a 1.69 ERA with seven strikeouts over his first five games. On May 1, 2025, the Diamondbacks selected Castillo's contract, adding him to their active roster. In five appearances for Arizona, he struggled to an 11.37 ERA with three strikeouts across innings pitched. Castillo was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks on May 12.

New York Mets

On May 15, 2025, Castillo was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. In 13 appearances for New York, he posted an 0-1 record and 2.38 ERA with 14 strikeouts across innings pitched. Castillo was designated for assignment by the Mets on June 25. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which ope ...

on June 29.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Jose 1996 births Living people Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Padres players Baseball players from Valencia, Venezuela El Paso Chihuahuas players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Gulf Coast Rays players Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Venezuela Navegantes del Magallanes players New York Mets players Reno Aces players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players Tri-City Dust Devils players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela 2017 World Baseball Classic players 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen