Back when the Colorado Rockies traded then-face-of-the-franchise, Troy Tulowitzki, they appeared to be getting three highly intriguing pitching prospects that made the pill of Jose Reyes‘ contract easier to swallow. However, after a really rough season for Jesus Tinoco, the Rockies have designated Miguel Castro for assignment, surprisingly leaving the team with only Jeff Hoffman as a result of trading Tulo.
Now, Castro could still be pulled off waivers or in some other way return to the team, but today’s announcement from the club signals a strong shift away from the 22-year-old reliever who despite recent struggles still looked like a strong candidate to play a role on this team.
If the Rockies do work out a trade or simply release Castro, it will call into question why Bridich was so ready to let a player of Tulowitzki’s caliber walk if he didn’t have more faith in the players he acquired for him.
It’s especially surprising given the number of players on the current roster with nowhere near Castro’s potential. Do Jordan Lyles and Scott Oberg really need spots so bad that it necessitated someone described by Bridich as just important to the trade as Hoffman? Why didn’t they just place Rayan Gonzalez on the 60-day Disabled List, knowing he will need Tommy John surgery? Did a place really need to be kept for Chad Qualls? All of these options represent less exciting potential than Castro displayed as recently as the beginning of last season, thwarting MLB competition as a 21-year-old.
It’s an odd logic that frankly is tough to wrap one’s mind around.
There is a chance the Rockies work out a decent trade for Castro, and as we mentioned, a very small chance he passes through waivers and the Rockies just send him to the minors, having made room on their 40-man roster. But this is an awfully risky move with a young and talented player the likes of which the Rockies should be aiming to stockpile, not to remove for convenience sake.
Sure, Castro looked pretty bad after returning from injury last season in both MLB and Triple-A, but it’s still way too early to be giving up on the young man and/or admitting a failure of talent evaluation when it comes to arguably the biggest move Bridich has made since taking over the GM role.
This still needs to play out, but the two most obvious conclusions here lead to massive critiques of the GM: Either he overvalued Castro upon acquiring him or he is underrating him now. There could be a health concern, but Castro could literally miss the entirety of the next two seasons and come back the same age as Jeff Hoffman is now. Either way, the Rockies were not in so desperate a position with their roster that they absolutely needed to move an electric, 22-year-old arm. The only way to save this move is if he is traded for something decent or ends up back in the organization.
