Miami Marlins open up a 40 man spot by demoting reliever

Remember when the Miami Marlins acquired a relief pitcher from the San Diego Padres? If you don't then it's perfectly fine. Considering the bigger moves that The Fish made to improve the bullpen during the Trade Deadline, this one flew under the radar. I'm talking about Jose Castillo of course. He's been demoted to AAA Jacksonville. Do you want to know more about this forgotten relief pitcher? Now is your chance!

Miami Marlins demoted Jose Castillo to the Minor Leagues.

Jose Castillo is basically a depth pitcher for The Fish. The 27 year old lefty reliever has spent his entire career to this point with the San Diego Padres. He debuted back in 2018 and made in appearance in 37 games, giving The Friars 38.1 innings pitched. How good was he? He provided them with an an impressive 3.29 ERA. Even better, he had an even more impressive 2.64 FIP. He also had 12.2 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. It certainly looked like San Diego found a future closer. How could he be anything else at that point? Unfortunately, he reminded us of the volatility of relievers instead.

From 2019 to 2023, Jose Castillo has only been able to appear in 3 games. Remarkably, he also was only able to pitch 2 innings of 22.50 ERA/9.17 FIP ball. What caused all of this? Injuries and a lot of them. He suffered from a torn ligament in his hand in 2019. He then missed the shortened 2020 season, due to suffering from a serious lat strain. After that, he then missed most of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Why? For an even worse reason: Tommy John Surgery. He hasn't pitched for The Fish since being acquired.

It's hardly a big surprise that this led to him going through waivers unclaimed. It's important to also note that he will be out of options in 2024. This means that he can reject his demotion due to having three years of Major League service time. He however needs two more years to keep his salary. He's getting $730,000 this season, with the Miami Marlins owing him the remaining $240,000. He can become a Minor League free agent if he's not back on the 40 man roster by the end of the season.