Right-hander Frank Castillo says one thing he accomplished during his prolonged stay in the minors this season was to junk his slider.
“I’m a three-pitch pitcher now,” said Castillo, who is scheduled to make just his third start of the season, against the Cardinals on Sunday. “I pretty much worked on my curveball and abandoned the slider.”
Castillo started the season on the disabled list with a torn tendon he suffered in his throwing hand during a spring-training brawl. He was called up for two starts in May and sent back to Triple-A Iowa with an 8.31 earned-run average.
At Iowa, he had shoulder problems and missed a couple of starts before coming back to go 4-2 with a 3.27 ERA, striking out 64 in 66 innings.
“It was good to go down and work on a few things,” said Castillo. “I kept thinking about my old high school teammate Butch Henry. The Expos sent him down, and he’s come back to go 8-2. I kept telling myself that’s what I was going to do.”
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Rebuttal: Manager Tom Trebelhorn didn’t enjoy reading that one of the reasons the Cubs brought up Castillo now was to save money if there is a strike.
“I fought to get Frankie back here because he’s the best pitcher we have available to come in and start,” said Trebelhorn. “What’s this stuff about money?”
Castillo has a major-league contract that pays $225,000 this season. If a strike comes Aug. 12 and he’s pitching in the minors, he still gets paid. If he’s with the Cubs and goes on strike, he loses his pay for as long as he’s out. The Cubs could save $64,000 if Castillo is on strike for the final 52 days.
Graceless again: First baseman Mark Grace missed his third consecutive game Saturday. He has tonsillitis, a fever and flu-like symptoms. Trebelhorn sent him back to the hotel and put regular third baseman Steve Buechele at first base.