The Blue Jays are signing infielder Rodolfo Castro to a minor league contract, reports Ari Alexander of 7News. He’ll be in major league camp next spring as a non-roster invitee.
Still just 26 years old (27 in May), Castro played in parts of three big league seasons from 2021-23, with most of that time coming in Pittsburgh. He hit .233/.299/.427 with 11 homers in 278 plate appearances back in ’22, but he’s an overall .219/.282/.380 hitter in 627 turns at the plate. The switch-hitting Castro has walked in 8.1% of his major league plate appearances and gone down on strikes at a 27.9% clip. He’s been considerably better as a right-handed hitter (.264/.331/.528) than as a left-handed hitter (.191/.268/.286).
Castro spent the 2025 season with the Phillies’ Triple-A club, hitting .235/.324/.421 with 19 home runs and 18 steals in 133 games. He’s a career .236/.320/.434 hitter in parts of five seasons at the Triple-A level. Defensively, he has at least 1899 innings of professional experience at each of third base, shortstop and second base. Castro has posted sub-par grades in the middle infield but notched strong grades in his 315 big league innings at the hot corner. During his prospect days, Baseball America labeled him a serviceable defender at all three positions and profiled him as a future bench piece.
That’ll be the role for which Castro vies next spring. The Blue Jays technically have some infield openings right now, but they’ll attempt to bring Bo Bichette back in free agency and plug him into one of the two middle infield slots alongside Andres Gimenez. Addison Barger could play third base or right field, depending on how the rest of the offseason moves shake out. Ernie Clement is an option at any of second base, shortstop or third base. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., of course, is locked in at first base.
The bench is less certain, though the Jays could bring in some veteran help in that regard as well. For now, Davis Schneider and out-of-options Leo Jimenez are penciled into reserve roles. Bringing Bichette back or making a different infield acquisition could push Clement into a utility role, which would leave only one spot for Schneider, Jimenez and any non-roster invitees (assuming backup catcher Tyler Heineman and backup outfielder Myles Straw continue to hold the other spots).