At least the front office admits its mistakes. When the new regime tagged Lendy Castillo in their first Rule 5 draft, it meant keeping the AA pitcher on the roster a full season. That happened, but most the year was dragged down by injury.
So when the Carlos Villanueva signing was official, the Cubs needed to move a player off the protected list. Lendy was designated for assignment, which means the team has a short time to deal him or waive him.
Castillo
was another one of these fashionable "reclamation" projects. He began his career as a shortstop in the Phillies organization, but
converted to a pitcher in 2010 because of his arm velocity. That is why the Cubs selected him in the 2011 Rule 5 draft.
The 23-year-old Castillo appeared in
13 games for Cubs last season, posting a 7.88
ERA and 2.25 WHIP in 16 non-pressure innings.
Castillo went on the disabled
list May 11 with a groin strain and missed several months before being
recalled in mid August. He had never pitched above the Single-A level
before 2012.
It is possible that the Cubs think that Castillo will clear waivers this time because of his poor performance and injury history. If he clears waivers, the Cubs could send him to the minors where he should have been last season, a season by all accounts was totally lost in the development cycle of a young player.
