Orioles Trade Reliever Miguel Castro To Mets In Exchange For Prospect Kevin Smith
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The Baltimore Orioles were active on Sunday, making a couple of trades ahead of Monday's 4 p.m. deadline. Now, it appears the team squeaked in one final move just before the clock ran out on deadline day. The Orioles traded 25-year-old right-handed reliever Miguel Castro to the New York Mets in exchange for left-handed pitching prospect Kevin Smith.
The team confirmed the news Monday evening.
Castro has appeared in 16 games this season for the Orioles tossing 15.2 innings and allowing seven earned runs. His 4.02 ERA is below last year's when he struggled to a 4.66 mark in 65 appearances. Acquired by the Orioles from the Colorado Rockies in April of 2017, Castro got off to a solid start in Baltimore posting a 3.53 ERA in 39 appearances that season and a 3.96 ERA in 63 appearances in 2018.
But, he ran into some issues in 2019 and with the Orioles losers of five straight and 5.5 games back of the Wild Card, the team appears to have decided to be sellers prior to the deadline. Castro goes to the Mets after the team sent relieve Mychal Givens to the Rockies and Tommy Milone to the Braves on Sunday.
In return, the Orioles receive Smith, a 22-year-old lefty who made it as high as Double-A ball in 2019. According to MLB Pipeline, Smith ranked as the 12th-best prospect in the Mets organization. In contrast to Castro, Smith has been groomed as a starter to this point in his career, making 23 starts across High-A and Double-A in 2019 while pitching to a 3.15 ERA. At 6'5", one might assume he's a power pitcher, but Pipeline notes that he gets outs more by effectively mixing his pitches and the deception of his delivery.
Castro won't have to go too far following the trade. The Mets come to town on Tuesday, September 1 for a pair of games.