Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Out of lineup again Wednesday
Rotowire
Del Castillo is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Pittsburgh.
After making four straight starts against traditional righty starters or righty bulk relievers, the lefty-swinging Del Castillo has now been on the bench for two straight games versus right-handers. Ketel Marte is getting a turn at designated hitter Wednesday, and Ildemaro Vargas will enter the lineup at second base.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Gaining traction versus righties
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Del Castillo will start at designated hitter and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Pirates.
Del Castillo will be included in the lineup for a fourth straight matchup with a right-handed starter or primary pitcher, after going 4-for-11 with a double, a stolen base, three runs and an RBI over his prior three starts. The 26-year-old will need to produce well at the plate in order to continue receiving steady at-bats versus righties, but he'll have a path to playing time while Arizona has three key hitters (Lourdes Gurriel, Jordan Lawlar and Tommy Troy) on the shelf.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Serves as DH
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Del Castillo went 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored in Sunday's 8-7 extra-inning win over the Cardinals.
Del Castillo made his first appearance since being recalled Saturday, serving as the designated hitter. An injury to Lourdes Gurriel (thigh) provides an opportunity for the left-handed batting Del Castillo to get platoon work at DH, although he was demoted earlier this month due to a lack of hitting.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Recalled from Reno
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The Diamondbacks recalled Del Castillo from Triple-A Reno on Saturday.
After being sent down to Reno on July 6, Del Castillo will now return to the majors as the replacement for Lourdes Gurriel, who landed on the injured list Saturday with an adductor strain. Del Castillo has slashed just .185/.244/.311 across 164 plate appearances with Arizona this season, but he could receive some starts at DH or catcher while Gurriel is on the shelf.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Moves back to Triple-A
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The Diamondbacks optioned Del Castillo to Triple-A Reno on Monday.
Del Castillo slugged a home run in his last start Saturday versus the Brewers, but he has posted a weak .555 OPS over 164 plate appearances on the season. With James McCann (quadriceps) returning from the injured list to resume duties as Arizona's backup catcher, Del Castillo will head back to Reno.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Homers in Saturday's win
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Del Castillo went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Brewers.
This was his first homer since May 26 versus the Giants. In the 16 games in between long balls, the catcher batted just .158 (6-for-38) while receding into a backup role. He's hitting .185 with a .555 OPS, five homers, 23 RBI, 12 runs scored, four doubles and no stolen bases over 164 plate appearances this season. Del Castillo's playing time could dwindle even more once James McCann (quadriceps) returns from the injured list, which is expected to happen as soon as Monday.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Playing time dwindling
Rotowire
Del Castillo has gone 1-for-3 at the plate while making no starts and being used off the bench in just two of Arizona's last eight games.
After joining the Diamondbacks on April 3 following a brief stint on the injured list to begin the season, Del Castillo had seen fairly steady playing time against right-handed pitching between designated hitter and catcher over the ensuing two months. However, his opportunities to catch began to dry up once Gabriel Moreno coming off the IL on May 1, and Del Castillo's playing time at DH has now dwindled over the past week with Pavin Smith returning from the shelf. With Arizona signing Max Kepler to a one-year deal Sunday, Del Castillo will likely face an even more difficult path to receiving at-bats once Kepler is eligible to join the Diamondbacks on June 25 upon completing his 80-game suspension.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Taking seat Sunday
Rotowire
Del Castillo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.
The Diamondbacks are giving Ketel Marte a day off from playing second base but keeping his bat in the lineup at designated hitter, so Del Castillo will be the odd man out of the starting nine as a result. Del Castillo had served as Arizona's designated hitter for the past five games, going 4-for-14 with a home run, two walks, three RBI and an additional run during that stretch. The 26-year-old could soon be at risk of losing hold of his strong-side platoon role, however; Pavin Smith (elbow) is in the midst of a rehab assignment and could take over as the Diamondbacks' primary DH if he's activated from the 60-day injured list during the upcoming week.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Getting rest Saturday
Rotowire
Del Castillo isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Colorado.
Del Castillo will get a chance to regroup while he sits down Saturday following an 0-for-9 stretch at the plate across his last three games. Jose Fernandez will fill in as Arizona's designated hitter and bat seventh.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Hits second homer
Rotowire
Del Castillo went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Brewers.
Del Castillo's blast got the Diamondbacks on the board in the fourth inning. The catcher had gone 0-for-7 with two walks and three strikeouts over his last three games. Overall, he's batting just .222 with a .652 OPS, two homers, 11 RBI, six runs scored, three doubles and no stolen bases over 57 plate appearances. He's shared the catching duties with James McCann lately, but Del Castillo is likely to see a drop in playing time once Gabriel Moreno (oblique) returns, which is expected to happen during Arizona's series versus the Cubs this weekend.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Returns to action
Rotowire
Del Castillo started at designated hitter and went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored in Tuesday's 11-2 loss to the Brewers.
Del Castillo, who was removed from the team's previous game Sunday due to a finger injury, only needed Monday's off day to get back in the lineup. He's hit a recent dry spell, going 1-for-16 over the last five contests, which dropped his average to .224 through 14 games.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Resting with lefty on mound
Rotowire
Del Castillo is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.
Del Castillo picked up two starts at catcher and one at designated hitter over the past three games, but he'll hit the bench Wednesday while the White Sox send lefty Anthony Kay to the hill. With Del Castillo sitting, Jose Fernandez will serve as Arizona's DH and James McCann will get the nod behind the dish.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Continues to hit
Rotowire
Del Castillo served as the designated hitter and went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 10-4 loss to the Blue Jays.
One of the few positives to take away from the blowout loss was Del Castillo's continued production. He's slashing .333/.353/.545 with 11 RBI over nine games since coming off the injured list. With a third catcher having been called up to help fill-in for the injured Gabriel Moreno (oblique), manager Torey Lovullo can deploy Del Castillo and his bat at DH when James McCann is behind the plate.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: First start at catcher
Rotowire
Del Castillo went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Phillies.
Del Castillo, who was making his first start of the season behind the plate, had a run-scoring single in the first inning, giving him hits in three straight contests. He's in line for more catching work after the Diamondbacks announced that Gabriel Moreno (back) was headed for the injured list. Del Castillo's bat is ahead of his defensive skills, so it's unclear if the plan is to use him as the primary backup to James McCann or reach down to Triple-A Reno for a third catcher. Not calling up another backstop might make it too risky to use Del Castillo as a designated hitter, which is where he made his first three starts before Saturday.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Back from IL
Rotowire
Del Castillo (calf) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Friday.
The 26-year-old opened the season on the injured list due to a calf strain, but he's good to go after a two-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno. Del Castillo seemed to have a decent path to playing time when Pavin Smith (elbow) landed on the IL, but Jose Fernandez made a huge impact in his MLB debut this week and is likely to get his fair amount of chances in the short term.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Begins running
Rotowire
Del Castillo (calf) is continuing to rehab and has begun running, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Del Castillo will operate as a designated hitter in minor-league games before the organization makes its next move. It's unclear what the Diamondbacks have in mind once Del Castillo is ready to play. He could serve as a third catcher and part-time DH in the majors or head back to the minors where he can continue to develop defensively.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Begins baseball activties
Rotowire
Del Castillo (calf) has begun hitting in cages and catching bullpen sessions, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Del Castillo has been sidelined since mid-February, at which point his recovery time was estimated to be about a month. He's not running yet, but the resumption of baseball activities indicates Del Castillo could be available for Opening Day.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Status in doubt for Opening Day
Rotowire
Del Castillo said Monday that he expects to be sidelined for around one month due to his left calf injury, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.
While Del Castillo is hopeful that he'll be able to play in at least one Cactus League game or exhibition before the beginning of the regular season, the extended time he'll miss this spring could end up costing him a spot on the Opening Day roster. Arizona is expected to head into the season with Gabriel Moreno and James McCann as its top two catchers, so Del Castillo would merely provide a third option at the position and would likely see most of his playing time at designated hitter. Because the 26-year-old still has a pair of minor-league options remaining, the Diamondbacks may prefer to option Del Castillo to Triple-A Reno, which would allow him to play on a more regular basis once he overcomes the calf issue.
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: Delivers homer off bench
Rotowire
Del Castillo hit a two-run home run in his lone at-bat in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Dodgers.
Del Castillo contributed to the Diamondbacks' comeback effort with a seventh-inning blast to pull them within a run. This was his second homer in his last five games, though he's mostly been limited to bench duties recently. The rookie is up to four homers, 16 RBI, nine runs scored and a .246/.281/.404 slash line over 40 big-league contests (121 plate appearances).
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Diamondbacks' Adrian Del Castillo: On bench against southpaw
Rotowire
Del Castillo is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
Though his absence from the lineup against a left-handed starter (Parker Messick) doesn't come as a surprise, the left-handed-hitting Del Castillo was on the bench for two matchups against right-handed starters over the Diamondbacks' previous three contests. Del Castillo has slashed an underwhelming .232/.270/.391 with a 32.4 percent strikeout rate over 74 plate appearances since being called up from Triple-A Reno coming out of the All-Star break, and until he picks up the pace at the dish, he might have to settle for more of a part-time role.
