The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated Baltimore 9-3 in exhibition baseball in Florida Monday. Diego Castillo hit his sixth home run of the spring, going 4-for-4 with two runs scored. Starting pitcher Bryse Wilson went 3-2/3rds innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out seven. He walked two, with the runs allowed given up on a two-run homer in the fourth inning. The Bucs complete Grapefruit League play today at 12:05pm against Philadelphia in Clearwater.
The Pirates have announced Castillo will make the opening day roster this week when the team opens their regular season Thursday in St. Louis. Castillo has hit .406 this spring with six home runs and 12 RBI’s in 13 games. Castillo came to the Pirates along with Hoy Park in a trade with the New York Yankees last summer for pitcher Clay Holmes.
Former Pirate outfielder Austin Meadows has been traded by Tampa Bay to the Detroit Tigers for infielder Isaac Peredes and a draft pick. The 27-year old Meadows hit .234 with 27 home runs for the Rays last season. He was part of the Pirates-Rays trade that brought Chris Archer to Pittsburgh in 2018
Major League Baseball has suspended three free agent players for 80-games for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. They include former Pirate reliever Richard Rodriguez, who was traded last season to Atlanta. Also suspended were infielders Danny Santana who played for Boston last season and Jose Rondon, who was part of the St. Louis Cardinals.