Veteran reliever has elected free agency after being designated for a signment by the Twins last week, . Presumably, he first cleared outright waivers. Minnesota signed Castillo to a minor league deal during spring training and added him to the big league roster in late May. The former Rays and Mariners righty totaled seven innings out of manager s bullpen and only yielded two runs, but he i sued seven walks in that time as well. Hes pitched well in Triple-A St. Paul, logging 18 innings with a sharp 2.50 ERA, 29. Orion Kerkering Jersey 7% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 54.4% grounder rate. Castillo was hobbled by a trio of shoulder injuries in recent years, which dropped his fastball from the upper 90s to an average of 94.2 mph in an ugly 8 2/3-inning run with the 2023 Mariners. He struggled with Triple-A Tacoma last year as well, prompting the Mariners to remove him from the 40-man roster by pa sing him through waivers. That granted Castillo the right to elect free agency at seasons end, which he did. Hell now return to the open market, this time on the heels of a nice Triple-A showing with the Twins and, more importantly, after displaying a rejuvenated fastball that sat at 95.7 mph in his brief big league stint. Between that reinvigorated fastball, his Triple-A results and an excellent track record from 2018-22, Castillo should find interest on a new minor league deal. (The Twins, conceivably, could look to quickly bring him back on a minor league pact with new terms.) Over parts of five years from 18-22 between Tampa Bay and Seattle, the now-30-year-old Castillo recorded a 3.12 ERA (3.38 SIERA) with a 28.1% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate, 50.7% ground-ball rate and 1.07 HR/9. He worked both as a closer and setup man at times along the way, so hes no stranger to leverage situations. Castillo also has a pair of minor league options remaining, although hes just days away from reaching five years of big league service time, at which point hed need to consent to being optioned. If he does land back on a big league roster and stick, hell be controllable through the 2025 season via arbitration. Austin Hays Jersey