Less than 24 hours before the trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Rays have traded reliever Diego Castillo to the Seattle Mariners. In exchange, the Rays will receive reliever JT Chargois and minor-league outfielder Austin Shenton.
Castillo amassed a 2-4 record with a 2.72 earned run average and a team-leading 14 saves this year for Tampa Bay in 37 relief appearances. The 27 year old was signed as an amateur free agent by the Rays in 2014, and made his big league debut four years later. In 167 career appearances with the Rays, he was 14-14 with a 2.99 ERA and 26 saves.
Chargois, a second round pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2012 out of Rice University, was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in 31 relief appearances this season with the Mariners. He signed a minor-league deal with Seattle before the season and made the team out of Spring Training. He also spent part of 2017 with the Twins, and also spent parts of both 2018 and 2019 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 116 career big-league appearances, he has gone 5-5 with a 4.13 ERA.
Shenton is listed as the #17 prospect in the Mariners organization by MLB.com. Drafted in the fifth round in 2019 out of Florida International, the 23-year-old has split the season between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas, hitting .300/.414/.566 with 12 home runs and 61 RBI.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
