Rangers Sign Red-Hot Venezuelan Hitter on Minor League Deal

The Texas Rangers are rolling the dice on a long-time professional player with Major League experience.

Minnesota Twins third baseman Diego A. Castillo. | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers are leaving no stone unturned for talent. This time it’s a pro that’s been in the game since 2015.

On Tuesday, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman on X (formerly Twitter) reported that the Rangers signed Diego A. Castillo to a minor league deal. He was playing for Algodoneros Union Laguna in Mexico when he signed. Heyman reported he was batting .526.

The signing was not posted to Castillo’s official transactions page at MiLB.com. The Rangers usually don’t announce minor league deals via release. But, Castillo brings the organization someone who can play multiple positions and has played in the Majors with three different teams.

About Diego A. Castillo

Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Diego Castillo. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Castillo has played six different positions in the minor leagues — all four infield positions and both corner outfield positions. In 10 minor league seasons in the U.S., he slashed .273/.348/.377 with 49 home runs and 398 RBI. He spent the 2025 season at Triple-A, so it’s likely he lands with Round Rock once he’s ready to play. That makes him stand-by depth for the Rangers as he has 101 Major League games on his ledger.

He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played 96 of his 101 career games. He slashed .206/.251/.382 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI. He played 32 games at shortstop, 28 games at second base and 22 games in right field.

The Pirates traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks before the 2023 season, where he only played in one game for the Diamondbacks while spending the rest of the season at Triple-A Reno. Arizona designated him for assignment that January.

Before the 2004 season began, he was picked up and waived by four different teams — the New York Mets, the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Baltimore Orioles. The O’s traded him to the Minnesota Twins after he cleared waivers. He played eight games with the Twins before he was waived. He spent 2025 in the Mets and Kansas City Royals organizations but was not called up.

The 28-year-old signed with the New York Yankees in July of 2015 as an international free agent out of Barquisimeto, Venezuela. He spent the next six seasons with the Yankees, reaching their Double-A affiliate before he was traded to the Pirates in 2021 in a deal that led to New York acquiring pitcher Clay Holmes.