Photo by Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
The New York Mets added more pitching depth to their minor league system on Thursday as the organization signed right-hander Victor Castaneda to a minor league deal.
Last season, Castaneda appeared in 12 combined games (one start) in the Tampa Bay Rays organization (Florida Complex League, Double-A Montgomery, and Triple-A Durham). He went 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and had 26 strikeouts to 12 walks in 20 innings of work. The Rays acquired him in March 2023 from the Milwaukee Brewers in the Javy Guerra deal.
Castaneda is a player with whom David Sterns has a good amount of familiarity from his time in the Brewers front office, so it is no surprise that he would take a chance on him with the Mets. Milwaukee signed him as an international free agent in July 2017.
Mets have signed right-handed pitcher Victor Castaneda to a minor league deal.
The 25-year-old had a 4.50 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 20 innings this year between R/AA/AAA. Uses a unique forkball/splitter.
Was originally signed by the Brewers in 2017.
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) December 21, 2023
Prior to this season, the 6’1” right-hander was primarily a starting pitcher. In 2022, with the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, he had 110 strikeouts to 47 walks in 106 ⅔ innings of work (22 starts) before finishing the season at Triple-A Nashville, and he ended up being third on the team in strikeouts.
As a starter, he went six innings seven times out of those 22 starts, and his best strikeout total came on May 10 against Birmingham when he allowed only two hits, walked a batter, and struck out ten over six scoreless innings, as shown in the tweet from Mayer.
Castaneda is currently pitching in the Mexican Winter League as a starter and has a 3.95 ERA in 12 starts over 66 innings.
The key to Castaneda’s success is going to come from his offspeed pitches, whether it be the forkball/splitter combination or his changeup, with his fastball ranging anywhere from 92-94 miles per hour on average. He also has a high spin slider (2600-2700 rpms) that gets whiffs on from right-handed hitters.
Baseball America had Castaneda as the Brewers’ No. 27 prospect entering the 2023 season and No. 25 entering the 2022 season.
If you look at Castenada’s numbers as mainly a reliever, he allowed at least one earned run in five of his 12 appearances, but his season did not start till August 1. The Mets are taking a chance on a player who has been a Top-30 prospect in the Brewers system before, so the talent is there. If he doesn’t work out as a starter, he could be another bullpen option that the Mets use because of the nasty splitter.
