José Gregorio Castillo Tovar (born January 10, 1996) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB).

José Castillo
Castillo pitching for the San Diego Padres in 2018
San Diego Padres – No. 65
Pitcher
Born: (1996-01-10) January 10, 1996 (age 26) Valencia, Venezuela
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
June 2, 2018, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics (through 2022 season)
Win–loss record	3–3
Earned run average	3.38
Strikeouts	55
Teams
San Diego Padres (2018–2019, 2022–present)

Career

Tampa Bay Rays

Castillo signed with the Tampa Bay Rays as a non-drafted free agent on July 7, 2012. He spent under two seasons playing for Tampa Bay's minor league affiliates.^{[citation needed]}

San Diego Padres

The Rays traded Castillo, Wil Myers, Ryan Hanigan and Gerardo Reyes to the San Diego Padres in exchange for René Rivera, Burch Smith and Jake Bauers on December 19, 2014.[1]

Castillo was selected as a member of the Venezuela national baseball team at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

After the 2017 season, the Padres added Castillo to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[2] 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 all-star sluggers Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez. [3] He ended the season 3-3 with an ERA of 3.29 in 37 games. In 38+1⁄3 innings, he struck out 52 batters.

Castillo began the 2019 season on the 60-day injured list 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 Major League Baseball season being shortened to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Castillo ended up missing the entire season due to a left lat strain and a torn ligament in his hand.[4] On March 4, 2021, it was announced that Castillo would require Tommy John surgery after exiting a simulated game on March 2 because of forearm tightness.[5] On March 6, Castillo was placed on the 60-day injured list.[6]

On November 30, 2021, Castillo was non-tendered by the Padres, making him a free agent.[7] On January 14, 2022, Castillo re-signed with the Padres.[8] He had his contract selected on August 23, 2022.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)