Phillies' Rodolfo Castro suffers season-ending thumb injury

Phillies infielder Rodolfo Castrowho has been assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, is out for the rest of the season. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports (on X) that Castro tore a ligament in his right thumb and will miss the rest of the year.

That's a small blow to Philadelphia's infield depth. Castro is on the 40-man roster but hasn't played for the Phils this season. The 25-year-old spent most of the year on the minor league injured list. He hasn't pitched well in 23 minor league games and failed to make much of an impact in 14 MLB games for the Phils last year.

Castro is a switch-hitter with some defensive flexibility and played 180 games with the Pirates in parts of three seasons. Philadelphia acquired him in exchange for the left-hander Bailey Butterfly by the 2023 deadline. Falter was a good back-end starter for the Bucs this year, posting a 4.02 ERA in 21 appearances. Even though he wouldn't have had a chance at a rotation spot in Philly, this trade was clearly an advantage for Pittsburgh.

The Phils could recall Castro and place him on the 60-day major league injured list if they want to clear a spot on the 40-man roster at some point. It's also possible they could simply release him to clear a 40-man spot. This is Castro's final minor league option year, so the Phils would have to keep him on the MLB roster next year or place him on the waivers list. He won't keep his roster spot all offseason, even if Philadelphia keeps him for the rest of the year.