CHICAGO — The Rockies made roster moves for the second straight day, calling up infielder Daniel Castro from Triple-A Albuquerque while sending first baseman Ryan McMahon down to Triple-A.
Castro, 25, is hitting a sizzling .407 through 23 games with the Isotopes this year — including a current 22-game hitting streak. He is playing second base and hitting seventh in Tuesday night’s game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
“I’m very excited, and this was my goal, to get back to the big leagues this year,” Castro said. “I’m ready to contribute.”
Explaining his hot start at the plate in Triple-A, Castro said: “The biggest thing has been my consistency. The adjustments I’ve made, and with the way I’m moving my body, I’m able to recognize pitches much better.”
The Guaymas, Mexico, native saw action in 80 major league games during the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Atlanta, hitting .217 with a .515 OPS.
Manager Bud Black said Castro was called up primarily to fill a need at second base, because DJ LeMahieu is on the 10-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. LeMahiue is eligible to return to the lineup on May 8.
Black also hopes that Castro can help spark a sluggish offense this is coming off an April slump that was the worst month of hitting in franchise history.
“Daniel brings us, hopefully, a base hit here and there,” Black said. “He’s really swung the bat well at Albuquerque and he’s off to a great start. He’s a steady defender and knows how to play the game. He can bunt and hit-and-run. He’s a guy who goes about it the right way.”
McMahon, meanwhile, struggled in 50 big-league at-bats, hitting .180 while striking out at a 36.7 percent clip.
“There are a couple of things that this move entailed,” Black said. “First, we wanted to get Ryan back to getting regular at-bats, and get his confidence level back to where he feels really good about his swing. There’s no doubt that what he was doing here with us — in and out of the lineups, with a few pinch hits — didn’t get him into the rhythm of the season.
“This was a move to let him exhale a little bit and just go back to being Ryan McMahon. We want him to play and regain some of that confidence we saw early in spring training.”
