Mike Elias pulled off another trade just ahead of today’s 4 PM deadline, dealing Miguel Castro to the New York Mets for Kevin Smith.
It marks the end of Castro’s frustrating time in Baltimore, a tenure during which the lanky right-hander flashed plenty of promise, but could never put it all together. His best year as an Oriole was actually his first, in 2017 when he had a 3.53 ERA in 66 IP. His ERA climbed to 3.96 and 4.66 over the next two seasons. This year, he sports a 4.02 ERA over 15.2 IP. His BB/9 ratio has made a nice improvement though, at 2.9 this year compared to his 4.6 career mark, perhaps making now the perfect time to trade him.
In return, the Orioles get Mets prospect Smith, the Mets’ 12th-ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline. The 23-year-old was drafted 200th overall (7th round) out of the University of Georgia in 2018. Over six starts in AA last year, the lefty had a 3.45 ERA and allowed 25 hits with 28 strikeouts and 15 walks over 31.1 innings after being promoted.
This is the third 23-year-old Elias has traded for at the deadline, after dealing Mychal Givens to the Rockies yesterday.
