Padres reliever Jose Castillo dealing with possible lat strain

San Diego Padres reliever Jose Castillo left the team’s intrasquad game Tuesday with a possible lat strain, reports Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Manager Jayce Tingler said he expects to have more information on Castillo’s status in the next couple days.
While it’s unknown how severe the injury is, lat strains often lead to weeks-long absences. With that in mind, it’s in question how much the 24-year-old Castillo will contribute to the Padres over a 60-game season. For now, it appears the left-hander will be in for a second straight injury-limited season, having made just one appearance in the majors last year because of forearm and finger issues.
When healthy, the hard-throwing Castillo has shown he’s capable of serving as a key member of the Padres’ bullpen. As a rookie in 2018, he recorded highly promising production across 38 1/3 innings with a 3.29 ERA/2.64 FIP and 12.21 K/9 against 2.82 BB/9. Castillo shut down lefties and righties alike that year, holding opposing hitters to a .170/.253/.267 mark.
Published at Thu, 09 Jul 2020 03:38:53 +0000