Alberto Castillo

Alberto Castillo Betancourt (born July 5, 1975) is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Amateur career Castillo played for Cuba in the 1993 World Junior Championships in Windsor, Ontario, at which time he defected. After relocating to the United States, he enrolled in Miami Dade College where he played amateur baseball at the junior college level.

Professional career

Giants and Yankees After being selected by the San Francisco Giants in the third round (88th overall) of the 1994 MLB draft, Castillo began his career in the Giants organization as a first baseman, although he did pitch a few times that season for the Everett Giants. After playing first base exclusively in 1995, he was converted to a full-time pitcher the following year but would briefly return to hitting a few years later and spend a few seasons as a two-way player and even spent another full season as a first baseman.

He spent two more seasons in the Giants system, playing for the Bellingham Giants in 1996 and the San Jose Giants in 1997. Castillo spent just one season, 1998, in the Yankees' farm system, splitting the season between the Greensboro Bats and Tampa Yankees. He appeared in 17 games, all as a pitcher, but walked 39 batters in 21 innings for a 9.00 ERA. He spent the rest of the season with the Orioles, posting a 1–0 record and a 3.81 ERA in 28 relief appearances.

Castillo split the 2009 season between the Orioles and Norfolk, and began 2010 with the Tides as well. Castillo was recalled to the majors shortly thereafter, but on June 10, Castillo was designated for assignment to make room on the Orioles' roster for Jake Arrieta. He was then returned to Norfolk, where he finished the season. He was granted free agency on October 5, 2010. He was re-signed by the Orioles to a minor league contract in December 2010. After starting the season 2–4 with a 1.89 ERA in 20 games for Norfolk, he was granted free agency on June 15, 2011. He had his contract purchased on June 28. He appeared in 17 games with a 1–0 record and a 2.31 ERA for the Diamondbacks, On March 18, he was released by the Dodgers.

Piratas de Campeche On April 13, 2012, Castillo signed with the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League. Castillo was released by the Piratas on May 4.

Diablos Rojos del Mexico On April 4, 2015, Castillo signed with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the Mexican League. He was released on April 7. Castillo was re-signed by the team on May 8.

Guerreros de Oaxaca On June 4, 2015, Castillo was traded to the Guerreros de Oaxaca. He was released on July 5.

Joplin Blasters Castillo signed with the Joplin Blasters of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball following his release.