While we’ve heard plenty of chatter connection the Orioles to free-agent catcher Welington Castillo, it now seems more likely that he’ll land with another team, according to Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com. More than one competitor has dangled a multi-year offer to the receiver, per the report, though it’s not yet clear whether any clubs have advanced to offering a three-year guarantee.
The Rays and Braves have also previously been tied to Castillo, whose market launched after a surprising non-tender from the Diamondbacks just ten days back. Tampa Bay, however, is likely out of the mix after making a relatively sizable commitment to Wilson Ramos. While the Braves have a number of in-house possibilities already under contract, the Atlanta organization has long been said to be an opportunistic participant in the catching market.
Castillo remains an interesting addition to the open-market mix. While his glove isn’t well loved, he has been quite productive ever since coming to Arizona in the middle of 2015. He owns a .261/.320/.452 batting line with 31 homers in the 760 plate appearances with the D-Backs. Though it’s true that he wasn’t quite as good in 2016 as he was the year prior, Castillo still showed plenty of bat for a catcher.
As for the O’s, missing on Castillo could lead the team to turn back to the rest of the market. Their own free agent, Matt Wieters, remains available and appears to be looking at an ever-shrinking list of plausible landing spots (at least, that is, on the kind of deal he’s probably hoping for). Baltimore has previously been tied to Nick Hundley and Chris Iannetta, though it’s not yet clear where they might turn if Castillo does land elsewhere.
Looking further down the list of available backstops, there remain a number of fairly well-known free agents — though most profile more as platoon mates or pure reserves. Kurt Suzuki has spent much of his career as the primary option behind the dish, having played in at least 100 games in eight of the last nine seasons; his market has been quiet (at least publicly). Players such as Alex Avila, Hank Conger, Chris Gimenez, Ryan Hanigan, Dioner Navarro, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Geovany Soto have all seen plenty of MLB action in recent years.
I was getting excited. It’s kind of sad to think that a second rate catcher is getting an Os fan excited. Ever sense Ortiz retired, Boston is more palatable to root for. O God what am I thinking!!! aaaaaahhhhhh
Remain calm. Take a deep breath. You know Boston isn’t really palatable. You will get through this. I tell you this as a Yankees fan who has to hear how time began in 2004.
Lol and don’t go to the yankees ban wagon either, they are even less palatable, this coming from a redsox fan who constantly has to hear about a bunch of titles they won before I was even born.
Let’s be honest, as a Jays fan, the entire Al East is not palatable. Well of course except for the Blue Jays;)
Sounds like you were never really an Os fan to begin with?
As a lifelong Red Sox fan, we don’t want you.
It was a joke. The Indians got to the World Series with one of the lowest payrolls in the league. Boston has too much chowder. Makes me gassy.
Funniest comment of the day goes to you good sir…lol..Well done
It says volumes about the level of discourse when a scatological reference is deemed “funniest comment of the day”.
Come on Coppy get it done. Flowers could use some help not the perfect platoon but Recker sucks
Recker played well for us last year in a limited role. I am personally glad he’s back as an option if needed.
Yes, I agree with Big Green Egg. Even though it was a relatively small sample size, Recker did actually do fairly well for the Braves last year. Overall, Recker finished the season with a .278/.394/.433 slash. Obviously, it was a career year for Recker, with the bat, and most likely he will come down to Earth a bit next season.
Even with that being said, the Braves do not need Recker to be an All-Star caliber back-up. Honestly, the Braves just need him to catch about 30-40 games well, get some timely hits, and maybe get a pinch hit, whenever he is called upon.
I’m not sure exactly what his advanced metrics are defensively, but from my own personal eye test, Recker is about an average game manager, although he seemingly does do a pretty good job “framing” or presenting pitches to the umpire. Also, he has a pretty good arm, but at times he can struggle a little bit with the accuracy of his throws, leading him to throw out only 8 of 29 runners last season, a decent bit below his career average.
One interesting little factoid for other Braves’ fans here, or those interested…(which I’m sure is not many..lol..) From the 8-hole in the line-up, Recker actually had the following slash line:
.364/.481/.545
O’s must have offered only a 1-year deal and/or lowballed Castillo to the extent that it was clear there could be no deal. Unusual for a FA to state they aren’t signing with a team who so obviously has a need for the player and his skillset. Something tells me a Wieters/BAL reunion may, once again, become the default solution.
If a reunion does happen, Wieters won’t come close to the 15million he made when he took the QO in 2016