Ángel Castro (baseball)

Ángel M. Castro (born November 14, 1982) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously pitched for the Athletics in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Career

Castro attended Western Oklahoma State College in Altus, Oklahoma. The Detroit Tigers drafted Castro in the 13th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He played for the Tigers farm system from 2006 through 2008. In 2009 he was in the farm systems of the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies.

In 2010 he played with the Lincoln Saltdogs in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball and the Dorados de Chihuahua of the Mexican League. In 2011 he remained in Mexico with the Saraperos de Saltillo.

In 2012, he pitched for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball and for the Albuquerque Isotopes in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system in 2013.

On December 11, 2013, Castro signed a one-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Castro played for the Dominican Republic national baseball team in the 2011 Baseball World Cup and the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

On August 8, 2014, Castro was traded to the Oakland Athletics organization for cash considerations. He began the 2015 season with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds before having his contract purchased by the Athletics on May 8. He would be optioned down to Nashville on June 2. He was designated for assignment on September 1 and elected to become a free agent after the season. He was later signed to a minor league contract with Oakland. He was assigned to AAA Nashville for the 2016 season.