Headlines

  • Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow
  • Astros To Promote Brice Matthews
  • Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers
  • Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help
  • Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays
  • Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Trade Candidate: Welington Castillo

By Jeff Todd | March 6, 2015 at 8:13pm CDT

The idea of the Cubs trading catcher Welington Castillo is not a new one: it began to make sense when the team endeavored to sign Russell Martin, became highly plausible when Chicago acquired Miguel Montero, and became an apparent fait accompli when the team added veteran backup David Ross. But over two months have passed since the new backstop tandem was installed, and Castillo remains on the Cubs roster.

MLB: St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs

True, Castillo says that he hopes to remain with the only professional organization he’s known. And manager Joe Maddon says he could be on the roster, while president of baseball operations Theo Epstein recently insisted that three catchers on the 25-man is a realistic possibility. But the smart money remains on a deal.

After all, Castillo has yet to turn 28 and comes with two more seasons of control through arbitration. (He’ll cost $2.1MM for 2015.) Though he swung the bat at a slightly-below-average rate last year, Castillo is a league-average hitter over his career and slashed a combined .271/.345/.404 over 2012-13.

Castillo does come with some defensive questions. In particular, framing measures are not kind. Then again, he has been slightly above-average at eliminating would-be base-stealers and at handling balls in the dirt, resulting in fairly strong overall ratings in the non-framing departments.

A league-average hitting catcher who can at least hold his own defensively — and could theoretically improve in the receiving department — certainly has value, especially at arbitration rates. (Remember, players like Ross and Nick Hundley commanded two-year deals in free agency.) The primary question, really, is one of market demand. With Spring Training in full swing, most teams have obviously largely settled their budgets and their roster situations.

While an injury or significant performance could be necessary to drive interest, there are no shortage of clubs that appear even at present to be viable suitors, at least in theory. Some clubs might view Castillo as a legitimate starting option in the near future. For instance:

  • For the Phillies, an aging Carlos Ruiz does not have an established reserve mate — or, perhaps more to the point, mid-term replacement.
  • In spite of their insistence that they are pleased with their current group and believe that Peter O’Brien can stick behind the dish, the Diamondbacks remain an obvious possibility.
  • The Orioles have dabbled in the catching market frequently, and could see some merit to bringing in Castillo as a complement and heir apparent to free agent-to-be Matt Wieters.

And several teams might conceivably consider Castillo as a bench upgrade or frequent platoon mate:

  • The resurgent Marlins have received replacement-level work from Jeff Mathis over the past two seasons, and Castillo would create an all-bat, defensively-questionable backstop partnership with Jarrod Saltalamacchia (who struggles against lefties).
  • Similarly, the Angels may be comfortable with Drew Butera as a defensive player, but their offensive production would receive a boost with Castillo on board.
  • Though Castillo does not look like the prototypical Rays backstop, but Tampa could use another option behind the dish and might go against its own convention if it smells a deal.
  • Likewise, the Cardinals seem content with Tony Cruz backing up Yadier Molina but could stand to improve upon the .580 OPS production that he has delivered over the last four seasons.
  • The Royals have relied so heavily on Salvador Perez that a stronger second option than Erik Kratz and Francisco Pena might make sense.
  • Castillo would not only offer the Mariners protection if Mike Zunino does not continue to progress, but would provide a much stronger hitting backup than Jesus Sucre (career .634 OPS in the minors).
  • And it would probably be unwise to discount the Athletics, who could roll with a Stephen Vogt–Josh Phegley pairing but have proven a lack of inhibition in either introducing depth/competition or going with a three-catcher arrangement.

Of course, interest is heavily dependent upon how these teams view both Castillo and their internal options. But the list does demonstrate that it is still exceedingly difficult to find high-quality options to don the mask, making Castillo a valuable commodity (albeit one with potential trade market competition in Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro). How much value Castillo might return to Chicago will be a function of how the spring progresses, but it seems reasonably likely that more than one team could ultimately decide that pursuit is worthwhile.

Share 5 Retweet 42 Send via email9

Chicago Cubs Trade Candidate Welington Castillo

Yadier Alvarez Establishes Residency In Haiti
Main
Rule 5 Draft Spring Update
View Comments (0)
Post a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Phillies Reportedly Targeting Controllable Relievers

    Yankees Prioritizing Pitching, Also Searching For Infield Help

    Orioles Trade Bryan Baker To Rays

    Yankees Release DJ LeMahieu

    Trevor Williams To Undergo UCL Surgery

    Nationals Fire PBO Mike Rizzo, Manager Dave Martinez

    Brewers Activate Brandon Woodruff

    Clarke Schmidt Expected To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Bobby Jenks Passes Away

    Braves Release Alex Verdugo

    Top 40 Trade Candidates For The 2025 Deadline

    Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

    Yankees Have Shown Interest In Ryan McMahon

    Royals Interested In Bryan Reynolds

    Rangers Option Josh Jung

    Kevin Pillar Announces Retirement

    Braves Place Spencer Schwellenbach On IL With Elbow Fracture

    Giants Exercise 2026 Option On Manager Bob Melvin

    Recent

    Trade Deadline Outlook: New York Yankees

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Atlanta Braves

    Which Other Relievers Might The Orioles Shop?

    Lee Elia Passes Away

    Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

    Poll: Which Teams Should Make The Biggest Push For Jarren Duran?

    MLB Finalizes Home Run Derby Field

    Astros To Promote Brice Matthews

    Giants Outright Sergio Alcántara

    Joe Coleman Passes Away

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version