NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines signs Jose Castillo

The Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball announced the signing of a left-hander Jose Castillo. The Mets opted not to tender Castillo earlier this month, passing on the left-hander’s expected $1.7 million arbitration salary.

The move to Japan may seem like a small thing considering the transactional maelstrom of Castillo’s 2025 season. He saw major league action for four different teams (the Diamondbacks, Mets, Mariners and Orioles) while compiling a 3.94 ERA over 32 innings. Castillo started the season on a minor league deal with Arizona and was designated for assignment in May and then traded to the Mets, then bounced around a series of waiver claims. Castillo actually had three separate stints with the Mets, the last of which came in early November when he was claimed off Baltimore’s waiver wire.

Castillo is out of minor league options, making him a necessary DFA candidate if a team wants to sign him from the active roster. He would likely face another round of appointments, outright assignments and waiver visits had he signed a minor league deal with a major league team this winter, so it’s perhaps not surprising that Castillo has opted for the relative security (and guaranteed salary) of this deal with the Marines.

Although Castillo has pitched in parts of five MLB seasons, that resume consists of his 32 innings in 2025, 38 1/3 innings with the Padres in his rookie season of 2018, and just two innings spread over one game with the Padres in each of the 2019, 2022 and 2023 campaigns. Multiple injuries (including Tommy John surgery) kept Castillo out of nearly the entire season 2019-2021 was shelved, and from 2022-2024 he pitched primarily in the minors with the Padres, Marlins and Diamondbacks.

While a small sample size of big league work, Castillo’s career 4.11 ERA, 27.1% strikeout rate, and 9.6% walk rate are all respectable for a pitcher with such a journeyman resume. He also has a 4.21 ERA over 130 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level. Control was an issue for Castillo, but he always managed to rack up strikeouts and generate grounders. Castillo doesn’t turn 30 until January, so there’s still plenty of time for the southpaw to explore a future return to North American baseball depending on how things work out during his tenure in the Marines.