The Angels will have yet another new Opening Day catcher, as they announced Tuesday the signing of veteran backstop Jason Castro to a one-year contract. Castro, an ISE Baseball client, will reportedly be guaranteed $6.85MM before reentering the market next winter.
The signing helps Los Angeles upgrade its weakest position from the 2019 season, as Angels catchers (with Jonathan Lucroy, Kevan Smith, and Dustin Garneau had much of the playing time) combined for negative-0.7 bWAR. While virtually anything would’ve been an improvement over that sub-replacement level total, Castro brings a solid track record of success, with 12 bWAR/14.5 fWAR over the course of his nine seasons in the majors.
Much of that value has come from outstanding pitch-framing, and generally good blocking statistics despite a down year in that category in 2018. However, last season saw Castro enjoy his best year at the plate since 2013, as Castro hit .232/.332/.435 with 13 home runs over 275 plate appearances for Minnesota. Though the veteran backstop lost playing time due to Mitch Garver’s big season, it was still a nice bounce-back year for Castro after knee surgery limited him to just 19 games in 2018.
MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents ranking correctly predicted a deal between Castro (34th on our list) and the Angels, and his one-year, $6.85MM pact topped our two-year/$10MM projection in terms of average annual value, if not in term length. While it is perhaps understanding that teams were wary of committing multiple years to a 32-year-old catcher with a torn meniscus on his injury history, it is maybe still a bit of a surprise that Castro wasn’t able to get more than one year given the dearth of other catching options on the market.
The Rangers, Rays, Rockies, and Pirates are among the clubs with notable needs behind the plate, and now Robinson Chirinos (who could be close to a deal himself) stands out as the clear top choice remaining. Should Texas miss out on Chirinos, the Angels will have done well to secure a solid veteran catcher ahead of their AL West rivals.
Castro is the latest notable addition for Angels GM Billy Eppler in a winter that has already seen Anthony Rendon, Julio Teheran, and Dylan Bundy head to Anaheim. While the Halos are known to still be looking for more rotation help, the addition of an excellent pitch-framer like Castro should also help the staff prevent runs.
ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan first reported the agreement and the terms (Twitter link).
good signing.
Billy Eppler still hasn’t been fired….
he’s still got a better job that pays more than you’ll ever get.
Nearly $7m for Castro is a good signing? Only that it’s one year makes it palatable.
Wicked come back man.
and not at all deserving
You need to see a Psychiatrist.
this guy hasnt caught over 100 games in over 3 seasons
You don’t fire GMs that improve your team by 15 wins in one offseason. Billy has done a very good job so far and the offseason is not over yet. .
This was not a 72 win team and he’s gone if it’s an 80 win team.
im sorry how many games did yhe Angels lose last season? improved team, where is the pitching? you cant improve if you dont have PITCHING!!! moron..
obviously Koamalu, has no idea what he is talking about. wake up buddy…
Wow. I think I found a new troll and one with anger management issues.
@stewartnbuck, I understand that you don’t actually follow baseball and certainly don’t know anything about the Angels so I will be nice and try to explain this to you in terms you might understand.
The Angels are replacing 62-64 starts by guys with a cumulative ERA of 6.83 (Cahill/Harvey/Suarez/Barria/Cole/Stratton) with 2 guys with cumulative ERA of 4.48.
In terms of WAR, they are replacing pitchers that put up a negative 2.3 WAR with guys that put up a 4.1 WAR.
That is a more than a 6 win improvement on pitching. That does not include bringing Ohtani back healthy or any improvement from Canning who was a rookie last season or Heaney being healthy for more than a couple months. That also doesn’t include any improvement in the pen just from not having to pitch so much or from effective relievers not having to make starts. Just from adding Bundy and Teheran.
Then Billy brought on Rendon. While we had an above average group that manned 3B last season, Rendon is still a 3+ WAR improvement at that position. AND adding Rendon allows us to move a 25 year old Fletch to 2B improving that position by 3+ WAR. One signing means a 6-7 win improvement from last season.
Our catching corp put up a negative 0.6 WAR last season. Signing Castro was a 2+ WAR improvement.
Not everything is about who you add. Sometimes its about who you subtract. We improved by 15 wins before talking about Ohtani, Simmons, and Upton returning and being healthy..
The offseason is still not over.
Even you must admit this is the rosiest of rosy projections for a team that was somewhere between below average and straight up awful last season WITH Trout Fletcher Ohtani Kalhoun and Lastella.
Yes, they could catch lightning in a bottle with the current group, but they project as a 80-85 win team to me, which has not been even enough to secure a wild card playin spot lately.
If only the game was played by WAR – You did not improve by 15 wins in the Real World you do realize that right?
I agree you improved but they actually do still play the games, its crazy right, i mean why risk injury when you could just play the game out on the computer and it will tell you everything?
Lets not assume Heaney and Ohtani to be of any health on the mound until we actually see it-
Now Im with you Moreno and Eppler havent done a bad job the offseason but the War calculations and definitive statements are beyond over the top, let some helium out please and get back down here
Every team right now is a paper team. No one is playing games. Calculating expected WAR is not a bad way to figure out if your team has enough or it doesn’t.
I don’t think anyone is assuming Ohtani or Heaney or Canning are going to pitch 150 innings, I would say the Angels would be lucky… very lucky, to get 400 innings out of those three. What does the expected WAR calculations project?
Anyway, their starting staff is at least 75 innings short, which is why they need a sixth starter.
If not bad means not good either then sure but at that point I think playing it at ground level might suffice just as well-
We can agree the Angels have def improved on offence and Sp-
It should be fun watching Trout and Rendon together,
Arte has some weebos in-between his legs so future major pitching signings / trades cant be ruled out
I dont know why all the Angel haters act like this is a 1 year or bust program with Trout/Rendon…..fellas relax they have at least 7 years together
Lets enjoy the game on the green grass not the computer is all Im saying, things are good in Anaheim, they have a legitimate shot at the playoffs this year
The problem with paper is you can’t predict that Upton’s season is going to end before it begins and that Skaggs is going to drink and take pain killers.
For the predictable stuff, it’s not a bad way.
Because Ohtani is only going to pitch 120 innings (guess), the Angels are not going to get their ace until 2021… if that.
The Angels didn’t “need” an ace. They “needed” solid innings. We’ll see in nine months if they got them.
The Ace was a luxury. It would have been nice had the Dodgers and Yankees not been “all in” on Cole, but the Angels pivoted, and I’m not bummed the Angels added Rendon instead of Cole.
koamula, you make alot of valid points but still think your wrong. 1 example of Eppler many incompetence moves. why do you draft a catcher in the first round of the draft, convert him to a 3rd basemen and then drop millions in free agency on a 3rd basemen. just 1 of many examples of why he needs yo go. also ot drafting any pitchers in the 1st rounds.
@stewartmbuck Who are you taking about? I just looked through our last 3 drafts and find no catchers or 3B taken in the 1st round.
If you are talking about Thaiss from 4 years ago, he was converted to a 1B immediately in the pros.
The reason why is that he was awful as a catcher for Virginia and played more than 1/3 of his games at 1B or DH for them over 3 seasons (2014 – 16 of 26 starts at DH, 2015 – 26 of 68 games at 1B or DH, 2016 – 29 of 59 games at 1B or DH).
His bat was why he was drafted. That was not a mistake. It was by design. No one except you thought he was a catcher.
Thaiss was moved from 1B to 3B out of necessity because of injuries to Cozart and La Stella. Now he can go back to 1B. Hopefully his bat comes around and he is a good backup for Albert.
You do realize we are not playing games now, right?
The only way to measure what has been done is on paper and by what the players have already done.
The projections are even better, but that is a different story and I prefer to be realistic and go on what I have seen that players have already done.
I am not bringing into the argument that Upton and Simba will be much better this season than in an injury plagued 2019.
I am saying Rendon is better than Fletcher, Thaiss, Cozart, La Stella, Cowart, and Ward at 3B. 3 plus wins. You can’t argue intelligently against that point.
I am saying that a combination of Fletcher and La Stella at 2B is better than 133 starts by Rengifo (90) and La Stella (43), 2-3 wins better. You can’t argue intelligently against that point.
Lets not assume that Heaney and Ohtani are not healthy. I have assumed NOTHING from Ohtani and only what we saw from Heaney last season in saying we are 6 wins better.
No one would even try to say that the 4.40 ERA over 336 IP and 64 starts that Teheran and Bundy put up last season is not a huge improvement over the 7.05 ERA we got over 288 IP and 65 starts from the 6 guys they are replacing in the starting rotation.
None of that includes possible improvements by Canning who was a rookie last season either. Or Barria or Suarez or Sandoval stepping it up in 2020.
Its all based on what the guys that are here now have done better than the guys that are no longer playing those positions.
Maybe you should start sucking on some helium instead of whatever it is you do now. Maybe you could get up to what is realistic.
Easy there Koamalu/KHouse. You make it too easy to rattle your cage. Projections have NEVER been wrong, right? That was rhetorical in-case you’re still seeing red.
Anyway, you’re asking a lot out of the 2020 Angels but crazier things have happened. There is something called an opinion and analysis guided by experience. All I can say is chill out because this rant you posted while ticked off has plenty of holes to poke if Stewart wants to partake. In sum, take a break. You could use one.
Dude Im agreeing with you the Angels are improved !!!!
Im not in the camp the offseason was a bust as many anti-angel people are, I actually think they have done well
Im reminding everyone this isnt a 1 yr or bust with them like sooooo many people paint it-
Im reminding everyone Arte has balls and will continue too add pitching may it be trade deadline or next year etc…. its a large window now
Chill out on trying to draw a straight line between War and how many games you will win as a team –
Get back down to Earth man
Lastly I must say (not you) but Angels fans are some of the dumbest in all the land- I live 10 mins from the staduim its horrifying how little you guys know about the game ON A WHOLE
He has is pretty much correct on where they are. Vegas had them at 87.5 wins after the Rendon signing and before the Castro move. Not sure where they are now, but that is in line with what he is saying. .
Yup, this is the signing we wanted. This is the right fit. Left hand hitting catcher. It is a one year deal, so we will be in the same boat next year. We will probably miss on all the pitchers again and get JT Realmuto. That’s my prediction for next off season. You heard it hear first
Now need a trade for a number 2 pitcher. My preference is either Clevinger or Jon Gray. These guys can be top rotation guys.. I do not want any of the other pitchers that the Angels have been linked to. Boyd, JA Happ, and Alex Wood are all bottom of the rotation guys at this point in time. We do not need another 4 or 5 starter. I also don’t want David Price. He can be a top of the rotation guy, but I do not trust his arm at this point. At 30+M per season,, it is a hard pass.
Angels don’t have the prospect wherewithal to trade for a guy as good as Clevinger. LA’s farm system is one of the worst in baseball.
Jo Adell?? Marsh?? Hell, Canning? I’m sure Cleveland would be ecstatic with one of those three.
Doubt Cleveland would trade him for any of those guys straight up. Clevinger still has 3 years (I think?) of control.
Adell in particular is a stud prospect… but that’s a lot of control to lose over a potential ace pitcher.
halos farm system was one of the worst. now just above league average
In the last two years the Angels system produced Ohtani, Fletcher, Suarez, Canning, Rengifo, Sandoval and Buttrey,
They have Marsh, Adell, Adams and Jones.
It’s producing a lot of players for such a crummy system.
He’s only signed through 2020, so it’s his last year under contract. So your way off
Ohtani was a FA signing and Buttrey come in a trade from boston. Yes the rest have come through and are “producing” but none are inpact players yet. Canning can be so can Adell and Marsh. But look at the yankee, astro, toronto, and dodgers current crop of prospect players that made the bigs. Lots of Impact players. Halos have improved a ton but still need to produce impact players.
I appreciate you fighting the good fight, but personally I don’t even think it;s worth engaging with people who evaluate the Angels system as though it’s still 2014. The system now is 10 times better than when Billy first arrived.
pretty sure Ohtani was a free agent, not a draft pick
Some of you may not remember fairly recently the Halo farm call-ups were of the Reggie Willits ilk. Great guy, but Jo Adelle he was not. The farm is still healing from the days of Reagins (mostly) and Dippoto.
It doesn’t matter how a team got their farm system… Does anyone care how the Padres got Tatis or the White Sox got Roberts?
I hate to be critical of posters, who actually try, but that’s a rotten take.
The fact is, the Angels have graduated prospects. That rotten system has produced some good players the last couple of years.
You compared them to the best. I’m not, I’m just saying it’s not a rotten system.
I’m pretty sure Roberts was a free agent, not a draft pick. I’m pretty sure Vlad Jr was a free agent and not a draft pick. WHO GIVES A LEAP?
It doesn’t matter how you get them in your farm system,
Just to add, Ohtani was signed as a minor league free agent. Ohtani has three options left. When the Angels broke spring training, there was talk of him not breaking camp with the big club.
He came from Japan, to the Angels minor leagues, to the Angels big league club..
And again, no one cares that Vlad Jr or Roberts are minor league free agents when evaluating a farm system. Baseball America rated Ohtani the #2 prospect in baseball. MLB had him #1.
@macstruts I do recall that. Ohtani had a horrible spring training. All the experts said he cant hit, cant pitch. He needed to go to double A for at least a year.. And then the season began………
I recall Rojas asking did we just get trolled the entire pre-season?
For someone like Ohtani, if you go to roster resource at fangraphs, look at options left. If there are no options left, it either means there are not options left or they signed a minor league contract.
Deavers and Benintendi have three options left. Just for example. Heaney has 1 option left.
They are not getting Realmuto. It likes it in Philly and the Phillies FO loves him.
Clevinger is not a FA until after the 2022 season.
I did say they have improved a ton. and have finally moved some to the bigs, but I think you have to compare them to the best if that is where you want to be.
And yet the trolls think it’s still 2014
Your new manager is a beauty too. Wait and see……
The Cubs should have to wait another century for a ring. Haunted by the ghost of Joe Maddon and the voices of 3 million fans screaming “WHADDAYADONEFORMELATELY!”
Agreed.
This is fine. He doesn’t suck.
He fits there catching void
mlb fantic, possibly. grammar fanatic, not so much.
Typing fanatic, copyediting fanatic, not so much. If you’re going to criticize, don’t make any mistakes.
Haha yeah! Eat your hat!
Did you self upvote this one too, little one?
Well, at least you didn’t criticize for being a troll.
Finally!! A proper use for that 1800’s reference!!
clepto
No but I’m certain you upvoted yours. Because you never get upvotes.
Oh the irony.
Your grammar is not much better if at all.
Can he pitch?
No but Russell Martin can.
cAn he pItcH?
Does he draw rave reviews?
Good deal
Good defense little pop
More pop than Benboom and Stassi combined.
Don’t forget about El Tappe !
perfect fit. now maybe Andrelton Simmons for Trevor Bauer ?
That would be a big mistake for the Angels. Trade the best defensive shortstop of a generation for 1 year of a drastically declining pitcher with an attitude problem?
Simmons has 1 year left as well
I think a Simmons extension can be expected. He’s been a great fit for the Angels.
He might want to play on a contender at some point though.
Simmons has made it known that he wants to be extended
I’m not really in the mood for creating a hole at second and a hole at short.
I think Fletcher and Simmons have a chance to be the best defensive middle infield in the game. I wouldn’t break that up.
Best defensive SS of a generation? Ever seen Jose Iglasias?
yes, i have. iglesias? not even close!
Is that an attempt at a joke?
Baseball Reference has Andrelton Simmons at 14th all time on the leaderboard of defensive WAR, ahead of the likes of Yadier Molina. Jose Iglesias isn’t even close.
Jcstein – Please stop stating facts. They get in the way of a good anti-Angels agenda.
Not even close bud. Ozzie maybe
We really need an option to not up vote, but laugh. We also need a /S that lets us know when it’s sarcasm.
Simmons is by far the best defensive shortstop of the past decade.
He said best in a generation. Pretty sure Ozzie was in a different generation
am i too old if i watched both greatest in person?
Jcstein & eph289: WAR is not flawless; however, because of the industry’s limited ability to statistically capture performance, it is one of the best measures we have… that said, I agree with you and WAR that Simmons has to be the best def SS off the past decade, and quite likely, the current generation.
I’d take him on the Yankees in a heartbeat, and Since the Angels, and most other teams, seem to concentrate on acquisition of players with offensive prowess, it is imperative to have elite-level defenders at key positions, like SS.
You’re never too old.
I’m getting to the point where my Dad was a few decades ago when he’d answer the phone with, “Still here!”
lol!
Bauer isn’t on the decline and because he is different doesn’t make him an attitude problem. He is easily the least athletic player in the mlb and one can say he is a science project that has seen glimpses of greatness but is wildly inconsistent. That being said Id rather have Simba
Bauer isn’t in decline. He just isn’t an Ace. He might be considered a #2 by some, but most look at his 4.04 career ERA and say he is a solid #3. He also has made it clear he will not sign an extension.
Simmons is the best defensive shortstop in the game and he also happens to hit well. Simmons has said several times that he wants to sign an extension with the Angels.
Nope, but his attitude makes him a player with an attitude problem.
“one can say he is a science project that has seen glimpses of greatness but is wildly inconsistent”
Or you could say he’s a baseball player who, outside an excellent 2018 HAS been pretty consistent. ERA in the 4.20-4.50ish range, WHIP around 1.3, 3-4 BB/9. Increasing K rate took a dive this year, increasing HR/9 did not. All in all, mostly unremarkablish.
Due to his power he’s the most likely candidate to start a one game playoff series for reds on a very good staff. He pitches a ton of innings and has a ton of strike outs every season. I’ll take 200+ innings of that over Simmons. It’s a power league. Defense is over rated.
@les chesterfield “defense is overated” lol riiiight 2015 Mets may beg to differ lol.
I don’t think the Angels can afford to add by subtracting at this point if they have any hope of catching the A’s/Astros
I think Bauer has more value than Simmons, but a deal like that might make some sense if the Reds get more in that deal.
interesting
lyao!
A deal like this is most likely not going to happen, but it’s an interesting concept. The Reds need a SS, and the Angels need an ace caliber starter. The Reds rotation is pretty solid without Bauer. The Angels can move Fletcher to SS, and sign a 2B. Both players are coming off of down seasons, and Bauer is more valuable when on his game. The Reds would need more than just Simmons. Plus it wouldn’t make sense for the Reds to trade Bauer after giving up Trammell to get him.
great take. i believe they’re closer in value then most think, just floating interesting ideas. Angels do have 2B Tommy LaStella on a 1 year deal in that scenario. Reds get half season from Bauer last year + full season from Simmons this year for Trammell ?
Only one problem. Simmons isn’t being offered on the trade market.
Bauer isn’t on the trade market too. It’s just an intriguing idea.
send me a link to the trade market
Send me a link to anything that suggests the Angels are considering a trade for Simmons.
intriguing only to dumb trolls!
powerful insight
Its not happening and that is because Simmons is more valuable than Bauer.
The Angels have plenty of infield depth. Fletcher, Rengifo and LaStella, wpuld be fine with me. If the Angels can get Bauer for Simmons pretty much str8 up, i say do it. They have a glaring need for top of the rotation guy. To compete against the Astros they absolutely need to find that starter. Simmons is great but hes getting older and his contract is up next year as well
I think the Angels can find a Bauer-like talent much more easily than they can a Simmons-level talent. Actually, outside of Simmons (defensively), there are none.
Bauer is not a top of the rotation guy. 4.04 career ERA. Average of 2 WAR per season. He is a solid #3 starter.
Teheran has actually been slightly better in his career.
Or move lastella to 2nd, and sign a 1st baseman
We already found Bauer-like talent in Teheran.
Yes, because other than 2018, he has never had an ERA lower than 4.00.
Was so glad the Padres did not trade for Bauer.
If they could then get Lindor, that would be nice.
@eyesalah No way. We should try to extend Simmons beyond this season for at least 3 more seasons. I think the Reds are pretty set on their rotation and are expecting big things from Bauer.
nice
I hate the Angels, but that is a good move, average offense and terrific defense to help nurture that pitching staff is great. Now the Rangers need to get Chirinos.
I think the Mets will get Chirinos to split time with Ramos.
I’m guessing Chirinos is looking for a starting job not to split time
I’m guessing Chirinos will look for a starting job instead of splitting time
Exactly
Well I guess Ohtani can return the catchers gear he got for Christmas.
I approve of your online sense of humor.
Great move for the Halos. Hopefully Castro does well out there and he ups his value for next year’s offseason. Under 7 million seems cheap!
Maybe we will be near the end of “the Angels have done nothing this off season” narrative
Not from the usual suspects.
Hahaha… F! The haters.
No, the Angels still somehow signed the best offensive player on the market and lost the offseason. Only the Angels could do this. Such a clueless FO, I just feel bad for the fans at this point.
You have Mike Trout. MIKE. TROUT.
The Angels signed the second best free agent position player this decade.
They didn’t tremendously overpay for Ryu and Keuchell, which would have hamstrung this team in coming years. They needed a catcher, they got him. They needed 350 innings, they got them. They needed a player to hit behind Trout, they got him. They didn’t trade either of their three best prospects. They have the best two through five hitters in baseball. They have one of the best lineups in baseball, and yet because they didn’t sign Cole, they are a failure?
They have another piece or two to add, but this piece was a biggie. Not a bad off-season.
.
will harris would be nice.
Very well said. Most of the critics here of Eppler complain without offering a solution. Easy to do. He had a hard job and has done well.
Who was the best free agent position player?
I’m rating this when a player hit free agency and not what he did after he hit free agency.
Robinson Cano. He played a primary defensive position, and averaged over 7 WAR for three previous years and just turned 31.
@macstruts You can’t compare Rendon to a steroid user. Steroid players don’t count as players. They are cheaters. There is a huge difference between ‘roid Cano and regular Cano. Rendon is way better than regular Cano.
No one knew Cano was using roids at the time.
It’s when they hit the market.
Well some people knew. Mark Teixera said he knew and also indicated that Cashman also knew. He said you know which of your teammates are taking PEDs. It is most likely why the Yankees let the Mariners win his services.
@macstruts If you want to look at the time of the signing, you are forgetting about Pujols.
Pujols was 32 and a first baseman. I prefer Rendon, but I’m not saying you have to prefer Rendon.
Agreed. they sign cole no money left for everything else they needed. I’ll take Rendon and the rest and finally give Trout some protection. could almost pencil him in for his 4th MVP now
Thank You Mr AngelFan.
I am also an Angel Honk for life!
Jesus. I want to say this comment is parody, but I fear it’s not. Repeat after me.
All additional WAR is worth the same! The Angels by any count have improved their team by more than any other team in a meaningful way. Losing out in Gerrit Cole does not fail them. This is a short term and long term calculus.
I love what he’s done and if they add 1 or 2 pitchers of Wood, Walker or Nelson. This team has their additions plus 2 good young pitchers and Ohtani coming back.
All that said, I do love that since the Trout extension that the Angels are the king of hated/front office fail teams.
I agree with you that all additional WAR is worth the same… But the calculus changes in the playoffs. Almost without exception a team needs two or more aces (aces who can go very deep into games AND pitch on short rest) to succeed in the playoffs.
I don’t think any of us believe the Angels are a playoff team today. We got significantly better, but are still an 86-87 win team.
How many Aces did the Royals have when they won the WS?
That would be none – https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/KCR/2015.shtml#team_pitching::none
You don’t even have the 2014-15 Royals rotation or bullpen. Take a timeout.
This idiot is the reason they removed the thumbs down button
it was probably me down-voting so many posts by trolls.
If they were so clueless they wouldn’t have been able to sign a player like Rendon at all. Even after signing him they had enough more than enough money to add pitching. They did. They can add more. The arms they missed out on signed where they wanted to play. It’s that simple.
Yes you have Mike Trout, Who has NEVER had protection in the line up. You think this was his best season? Pencil him in for a 4th MVP. 2/3rds of the way through the season on jusy 31 the were 56 ans 54. Then injury’s and tragedy struck and they fell apart. In cluding losing trout for the last 3 weeks. Adding Bundy and Teheran will not help a ton both durable inning eating ground ball pitchers. No more “bull pen starts.” The teaam will be in the wild card hunt.
It’s not that they didn’t do anything, just that they didn’t address their biggest need of quality pitching.
Their biggest need was serviceable innings. When their 6th through 12th starters were making most of their starts, innings was their biggest need.
Their second biggest need was finally adding someone who could hit behind Trout.
To become elite, the Angels biggest need is a #1 ace. The Angels aren’t elite. If Ohtani becomes a #1, they can be. But that wont happen in 2020.
That’s more than I thought he would sign for but they needed him.
Such a great defensive catcher, angel fans will like him!
No way a great defensive catcher as I’ve watched him (when healthy) with Twins the past 3 years. Way too many PBs, struggles to block pitches in dirt and is woeful at throwing anyone out on bases. And that’s the positive for him. He’s close to an automatic out with the bat. If he ever comes to the dish with RISP and 2-outs–go get yourself a snack or use the bathroom as the only thing you’ll miss is a weak pop fly, groundball or whiff.
Defensively, for the 32 catchers who caught over 600 innings, fangraphs had him at 16.
Out of the 36 catchers who have over 250 ABs, Castro is 15th (wRC+)
Considering where the Angels were, that’s a huge upgrade.
Castro is pretty average in blocking pitches and throwing out runners. He is one of the best in pitch framing. Top 10 of guys with 4000 pitch framing chances last season.
With the Angels he will play almost exclusively against RHP where he hit .254/.354/.497/.851 with all of his 13 HR and a 125 OPS+ and 126 wRC+ last season.
I really hoped the Yankees would try to acquire him to catch for Cole…. Additionally, that would’ve provided for some balance with Sanchez in the postseason and for late inning replacement, if necessary. He’s a solid catcher.
put that one on the board
YES!!!!!!!
Now Alex Wood and bullpen help. I say Wood because all they need is a pitcher with upside who can pitch 100 innings.
great fit
100 innings might be asking a lot from Wood.
It might be, but he did throw 150 in 2017 and 2018. But even if he throws 60 quality innings, I’ll be happy, and six of the seven years of his career, he has done that.
That was predictable. I’d have been a little surprised if they didn’t sign him.
True, but it took way too long. I was getting nervous.
Good signing will help staff
He will most likely spend 100+ days on the IL but if he does play 120+ games then this is a quality pickup.
yup, he will spend those days on il in yo’r mama’s room!
This idiot is the reason they removed the thumbs down button
Great fit! if Angels can sign Will Harris/Alex Wood (not sure if they have enough left over) I think this will be a very good off season for them.
Harris signed with the Nationals.
I like an Alex Wood signing
I bet money Chirinos signs within the next 36 hours now.
I say he returns to Texas and splits time 60/40 with Trevino
I agree but 70/30 split lol
Great catcher, just hope he doesn’t end up like Lucroy
I got a bad feeling this is where his career takes a huge decline. I’m not an optimistic fan.
No pitcher yet
You’re right, well, unless you count Bundy and Teheran.
What people are missing is Bundy and Teheran are replacing.
Cahil; 11 Starts, 6.92 ERA.
Harvey 12 Starts 7.09 ERA.
Suarez 15 starts, 6.85 ERA.
Barria 13 Starts 5.52 ERA
Chris Stratton 5 Starts, 7.05 ERA.
The Angels needed Bundy’s and Teheran’s innings. I don’t think people realize how important those innings are.
They also don’t understand how much better Teheran and Bundy are than what Angels fans suffered through last season.
On top of those guys you mentioned, we also had Peters 5.38 ERA in 12 starts, Cole 5.92 ERA in 6 starts. Neither will have to pitch this season hopefully.
60 starts from Teheran and Bundy with a combined ERA of around 4.00-4.20 will be 2 points lower than the guys they will be replacing..
Yes both are durable and both have good ground ball rates. Should help the bullpen out as well and eliminate those wonderful “bullpen starting days”
And don’t forget about Ohtani.
What is this in aid of?
What is going to become of all these outstanding “pitch framers” when robo umps make their way to MLB?
You’ll get betting hitting catchers. I’m curious what will happen to base stealing. The catcher will be able to get rid of the ball quicker, but the catching wont be as good.
I am so looking forward to pitch framing going away. It’s baseball’s version of flopping. Too bad the umps can’t call a technical foul for pitch framing/flopping.
Good stop gap move for weakest position. Now if they can add a top tier starter, they have a legit shot at the playoffs.
It’s no secret the Angels need a front line starter. But I’ll never understand the venom people have for this team. Is it Trout envy?
The Angels could trade a bag of baseballs for Jacob DeGrom and all I’d hear about is how they’re wasting the best player in the game.
They are and have wasted the best player in the game.
You can only believe that Trout has been wasted if you also believe that it’s easy to be a GM, and it’s simply a matter of being able to add any player you want.
Your narrative is incorrect. Eppler and Arte are the victim of their own poor decisions. Your statement might be true had this been over a small sample size, but they’ve had years to figure it out. You see smaller market teams (this is my narrative for example) like the Twins and A’s do pretty well over the past few years due to better decision making by owner/manager. So, yest they have wasted Trout’s excellence.
I don’t think Eppler should be thrown into that mix of poor decisions. Choosing to rebuild their farm system was the best decision any GM has made since Bill Stoneman was there. That’s what kept them in constant playoff contention during that decade. Arte moving away from that, and hiring hack GM’s (Reagins, Dipoto) are what got them into this mess. Eppler is the one GM who has tried to get them out of it by emphasizing organizational depth.
It is Trout envy.
And the Cubs wasted Jenkings and Banks and Santo.
And the M’s wasted Martinez, Griffey, A-Rod and Randy Johnson.
It’s so old.
And the Braves wasted BJ Upton.
Oh, wait…
I seldom laugh out loud when I read posts, but I literally laughed out loud. Thanks for that.
I think what really matters is trout resigned and they have no chance of watching the greatest player of the generation play. Just pure envy.
!redditGold
if I could
@bhambrave BJ Upton….now you’re talking. The Braves really squandered that talent. In his hay day, he was one of the premiere joggers in the league, whether it was jogging after a ball that he misplayed or trying to jog out an infield hit.
And the Yankees wasted Carl Pavano.
Oh, wait…………
I really think that’s it. That and ignorance of the injuries and bad luck the team has suffered. For some reason, they think every injury is the result of poor training.
The Trout Envy claim is lazy as an excuse, imo. I believe true baseball fans want to see the best players in the postseason and are frustrated by teams, like the Angels, that don’t appear to be doing what they can to get him there. That’s why they call it a waste.
Nobody would deny wanting Trout on their own team. But they also know Angels have the finances and location to draw top talent (Trout, Rendon). So it stands to reason, when they see the moves the Angels make are like Bundy, when they need a Cole, Stras, Wheeler (?), or even Kluber-type talent, they’re critical (of the owner more than the team). Especially when teams with far less resources can consistently manage to deploy better teams
It seems many fans take that very personally, as if an insult to oneself or one’s family. Many others, @macstruts or @HaloHeavens are not in this category, in my experience.
I constantly hear about the injury excuse but their team hasn’t been injured for 10 years!
Lol everyone wanted Trout to be a free agent for a slight glim of hope that their favorite team would be able to sign him. Everyone thought he wanted out of Anaheim only to find out that he wanted to be on the Angels for life lol. People hate being wrong.
LaFlamaBlanca and Angels fans :
I don’t recall hearing that from anyone except Angels fans. Your ultimate claim to fame is a generational player. KC, Astros, Boston, ChiSox, Cubs, Yankees, MARLINS, and pretty much every other team is trying to win rings, and did, yet you call them jealous? Ha!
No Yankees fan that I know believed Trout was destined for NY. Maybe Phillies? But you apply that universally because it is all you have. You come across as immature and frankly, ignorant. I don’t mean that to be insulting, but there is no other way to put it when you make such ludicrous claims. Step back and look objectively at the premise upon which fans are making statements and I think it will resolve your incoherency.
@themick7 haha well then you have bad memory. Go back and look through the articles about trout just before the extension and you’ll see the comments filled with people calling out the yankees and phillies as his future destination lol. The narrative was that he lives close to philly (and die hard eagles fan) and he was going back home and the yankees because that was his childhood team and jeter was his favorite player. Haha I don’t recall ever saying teams lol not sure where you got that from. I laugh at how mad people get over a team they don’t even like.
Trout envy is genuinely funny. Perhaps it is partially true.. I know I’d sure like to have him on my team! However, I think many baseball fans are upset to see the best player in this generation stuck on a mediocre team. I know I would sure like to see Trout in the playoffs.
It is hard to believe they had Trout for nearly the entire decade (along with a consistently-high payroll) and the only playoff appearance they have been able to muster-up is in 2014 when they were swept by the Royals. They are on a fairly short list of teams that did not win a single playoff game in the 2010’s.
I’m sure the Angels could predict that Upton, Simmons, Cozart, Bour, La Stella, Lucroy, and Heaney would spend large portions of the season on the IL and that Skaggs would die and that both Cahill 5.98 ERA and Harvey 7.09 ERA would completely stink after having 3.76 and 4.54 ERA’s the previous season.
Billy was not trying to “waste” Trout. He put together what most thought would be and 85-87 win team. Injuries, death, and just bad play by key pitchers killed that.
Every team has injuries. There were teams with more injury issues and better performance last season. I didn’t even criticize the Cahill and Harvey signing. I think they were reasonable but obviously risky.
Nobody is implying that Eppler (or anyone else) is intentionally wasting Trout’s prime years. But if you are trying to put out an 85-87 win team out there (if everything goes right), it seems pretty obvious that isn’t going to make the playoffs.
last season wasn’t supposedly a contending season. angels got a top 10 pick for the first time in years. eppler left $55-60 mil for this offseason and he still has some. not that epp has been a great gm but he has done as well as he can considering the circumstance.
#1 Skaggs died, he was not injured. How much a death affects a team is not quantifiable and he was not included in injuries. The players we had injured were our top performers the previous season. Ohtani was gone for the season as a pitcher. The guy expected to be our Ace. 5.4 and 3.1 WAR in 2018 turned into 1.7 and -0.2 WAR in 2019 because of injuries to Upton and Simmons.. Injuries to Cozart for 2 straight season turned him from a 2 WAR player into a negative WAR for us. Injuries to Lucroy took us from a positive WAR at catcher to a negative WAR. We went into 2019 expected to win 87.5 games and contend for a WC if things went right and that was without Ohtani. .
The Angels are an 86-87 win team in 2020 if everything goes like it did last year and no one improves and Upton, Simmons, and Ohtani contribute exactly what they did last season. If we see improvement from Canning, 24-25 starts from Ohtani, A 3 WAR Upton and a healthy Simmons, then we are a 90+ win team.
Trout CHOSE to stay in Anaheim. He is not a prisoner here and he is not being wasted.
1 playoff series in 8 seasons. Pretty sure that counts as wasting him.
CKinSTL – “However, I think many baseball fans are upset to see the best player in this generation stuck on a mediocre team.”
By “stuck” you mean he chose to play for the Angels for his career. There are no involuntary contracts in baseball.
Eph, I think you are failing to see the forest for the trees. Again, this isn’t arbitrary Angels-bashing. Baseball fans want Moreno to treat Trout as he has treated them. They’ve had a decade to build a winner and you’re team is playing roughly .500 baseball, with one of the best baseball players of all time!
No way teams with less environmental appeal and less financial flexibility should be fielding better teams.
You have arguably the best 3b, best player & CF, great DH in Ohtani, and best def SS in the game. The foundation has been there; he just needs to get top-tier pitching.
Think about it: Tony Gwynn got to go to the WS twice with the Padres!!!
Give the men a chance. And if you need pitching, take Domingo German, please
To Thurman8ter’s point: no, if you got a comp to DeGrom, most rational people would understand and not make that claim.
@CKinSTL Trout has been to the playoffs already. He career is far from over. Heck, even the Yankees had Mattingly for 14 years before they even made the playoffs and lost. Mattingly never won a World Series, but no one questions his greatness or his ability to hit.. There are a lot of great players that were never able to be in a World Series.
There are circumstances that have lead to the Angels not being able to compete. They have had 2 pitchers die. They had sign major free agents that turned out to be some of the worst FA signings of all time in Pujols and Hamilton. We all would like to see Trout in the playoffs. Most fans can see the Angels are making an effort to be competitive. They do not get all the players they want, but what team does? .
The most important thing is Trout is happy where he is at. He doesn’t complain or feel sorry for himself. Luckily, he has you for that.
@Thurman8er You have to understand there are trolls. They seek attention. They do not know anything about the Angels. The Angels come on past there bed time, so they do not know anything about the team. Yet, even if they do not know anything about the team, it does not prevent them from posting on every Angel’s post.
What is wrong with baseball fans stating that they want to see Trout in the playoffs and would like the Angels to make smart baseball decisions to make that happen?
I’m not sure why that is so offensive and qualifies as trollish.
@CK: It is like I stated above – Certain Angels’ fans are so biased that they say the Angels have improved their team better than any other team and other similar disingenuous statements.
The only defense to the reality that the team is failing Trout is that these fans become victims because you can’t argue feelings, for they are subjective.
MrAngelFan referenced the 14-year abyss the Yankees fell into while they had Mattingly, a Yankee legend. The difference is, Yanks fans will agree with him, not say, “Yankees greatly improved their team and really tried.” And the Angels have Mike Trout, a far better player than Donnie Baseball.
The statements about the Angels FO making these Trout-friendly, ingenious moves to improve their team are contradictory to their record, overall performance, and every other baseball expert’s opinion.
To say that The Angels have gotten Trout to the playoffs, but their have been bad contracts, etc…, is justifying the FO’s lackluster pursuit of talented FA’s while they rested on the laurels of Trout (Simmons) and the money he (they) brings them. Hate to say it, but someone has to – even if they still had Skaggs, he would not be the pitcher they need and would’ve been suspended on his first drug test, because he was a narcotics abuser.
As one other Angel-friendly poster astutely noted: Trout did decide to come back and play for them. Yes, and so would many other top players if the FO would loosen their white-knuckle grip on cash and build a team! They’ve had a decade, and when they fail to make the playoffs or get past the first round in 2020, we will be reading the same victimized statements next offseason. Lunch?
Mick – Let’s examine some of the Trout years.
2012.
Missed a month of the season due to illness, He missed all of spring training. The Angels won more games than the AL World Series representative. They were 9 games back when Trout was activated.
2014
The Angels had the best record in baseball. The Angels lost three close games against KC. Trout got 1 hit in the playoffs.
2015
The Angels missed out on a playoff spot by 1 game. Trout rolled over on his wrist, July 26th, sat out a couple games and for a month couldn’t hit. He hit 210 with 350 slugging pct from July 30th to Aug 29th. The Angels were 10-19 in that span.
Due to injuries and that one playoff hit, Trout was part of the reason he hasn’t played more playoff games.
After that, Weaver, Shoemaker, Richards, Skaggs, Heaney all had injury issues and the Angels as well as those pitches haven’t recovered. I don’t think any team can have their starting rotation gutted and still be competitive. Four of those were good young pitchers. The Angels were built to compete. Stuff happens.
The front office is not cheap. It takes awhile to build a rotation.
@CKinSTL You act like the Angels are not trying to build a winner. They are not the richest franchise that can outspend the likes of the Dodgers or Yankees. They would love to have a Gerrit Cole, but if the Yankees or Dodgers are all in, they are going to overspend more than the Angels can. The Angels have landed some high profile free agents in hopes of contending. They did not expect them not to live up to the contract.
I don’t know who your team is or your motive for the negative post. Let me know how many championships your team has won during the 8 years of Trout;s tenure that would make it so worth his time to play for. Is it St Louis like your name? Is your post because you are still bitter about Pujols?. If St Louis is so savvy, why are they hacking the Astros? If they are such good at evaluating talent, why did they draft Shelby Miller instead of Mike Trout when they had the chance? You sound ridiculous when you claim the Angels are not trying to build a winner. They lack the same crystal ball your team does to foresee the future. If your team isn’t the Cards, than let me know who? I can play the hindsight game to. Why make negative post for attention? You don’t see me on your team’s forums posting nonsense. Be positive and support your team, not try to tear down another. It would be one thing if the Angels were standing pat,with a ton of bad players, but I assure you that the Angels have plenty of talent and are fun to watch.
Do not worry about the Angels or us So Cal natives. We are not so tied up in championships, we have the Lakers for that. .
You’re correct, and You’re not one of the individuals to whom I was referring. The examination of Trouts’ participation is unarguable because it is factual. My point is if the FO has committed fully to a WS, they would have won one or gone more times than KC, Cubs, and other teams that save far less market and team value than the Angels.
It’s the argument I made also for the Yankees before they picked up Cole, and even before that, they had better pitching than the Angels.
You can’t split the baby… all in or not with Trout’s talent. Respectfully, 29 teams have an excuse every year, but what do you all say to Yankees fans when they don’t win and the Astros cheated? That it’s an excuse.
Moreover, your fans claim injuries, when Yanks had more injuries than any other team last year (including Angels at 32, to also include our pitching staff).
Again, respectfully, It’s the constant excuse-making instead of admitting that they haven’t done what they should, especially the last two offseasons, to get who they need. A failure to admit that truth is a non-starter for a conversation, but to take it personally is absurd, if one is honest with oneself.
Last, you all believe people here hate the Angels when it’s quite the opposite. Even fans of other teams are rooting for them to get Trout to the WS.
Nothing disingenuous about the fact the Angels have improved more than any other team.
Cubs are one of the top 3 in team value.
The Yankees had more players go to the IL, not the most player days on the IL (that would be the Padres) and remember Skaggs is not included in those player days on the IL because he died.
So what excuse are you making for the Yankees spending the most money in history of any team over the past decade and winning ZERO World Series? They went all in on players and spent $800 million more than the Angels in that time frame and what did that get them? The same amount of rings. So stuff the sanctimonious BS.
It’s total Trout envy. People just assume that he’d be an automatic for a championship somewhere else like this is MLB The Show. No guarantee he’d win anything anywhere else. See Griffey, Bonds, WIlliams, Banks, many legends who couldn’t get a ring to save their lives. That’s just baseball. I have no sympathy for Mike Trout. The history of the game shows us that no player is entitled to a championship, and neither is any fan.
I don’t think it is just a case of TDS or Trout Derangement Syndrome. They are jealous of where we live. Girls are pretty and in shape. They live where chicks pack on pounds for the winter cold for hibernation. If you lived in the cold, you would be miserable too. Then you have to deal with other miserable people with stupid, obnoxious accents. Yikes, no thanks. Let them post their angry post so we can laugh at them.
MrAngelFan: You, sir, typify the type of excuse-making that elicits rhetoric about how unintelligible Angels fans’ arguments are. You now say that baseball fans who don’t live where you live are jealous, so they say your team needs to improve? Then you resort to your prototypical illogical thought process – People who don’t agree with you live in a place where women aren’t as pretty and are fat? You need medication. Most people that don’t live in California, hate it, and live in beautiful places. It’s also why so many Californians move to Florida, Idaho, and NC, right? And, you’re so ignorant you criticize other people’s accents when you have the a large population of various ethnicities, who have accents? Wow.
Also, you’re so deranged that you don’t understand LA is literally right next door, or that fans of every team live in CA? Maybe you’ve been there for too long because you sound like Nancy Pelosi –
Damn, most of you are terribly insecure, and it’s readily apparent in your persistence about someone else being jealous of what you have.
TheMick7 Are done with your senseless babble? Are you seriously talking about politics on a baseball forum? I am not a political person so I am not going to go there.
Are you the same moron that claimed Upton only played in 6 games 2 year ago? I believe you are. Obviously, I know far more about my team than you do. No one that follows the Angels would claim Upton played in so few games. In fact, anyone that follows baseball knows Upton is not injury prone even though he was hurt last year on a freak incident. If you don;t follow the Angels, why are you here? I don’t get it.
You don’t follow the Angels, but you know exactly how to fix them. The Angels haven’t won in 8 years during Trout;s tenure, , but neither have the Yankees. You know Trout is less than a year older than Judge? What World Series was Judge. in? Shouldn’t the Yankees trade him to a team that goes to the World Series? That is how ridiculous you sound to most people. MLB isn’t a balanced playing field and the Yankees have more money to spend than anyone and have been to zero championships in 10 years. How is that possible? They won the most championships during the steroid era but they also have the most players linked to steroids, Petite, Clemens, Sheffield, Giambi, Knobloch, Cano, A-rod, Cabrera. These are the few of the confirmed ones that I can name off the top of my head. I am sure there are plenty more that we do not know about. Is it surprising that the team winning the championships during the steroid era was the team doing the most steroids.? It is unfortunate because the Yankees had a few decent players like Jeter and Rivera that I don;t believe did steroids, but their careers are all tainted now.
Angel fans know we need need better pitching. Angel fans appear to be some of the most knowledgeable about their team and game in general. Trevor Cahill lead the team with 102 innings pitched. He has an ERA over 6. I know you are not a stat guy, but I assure you that is not good. It would hard for any team to compete without any stability from the starting rotation. When your rotation is so unsettled, it also affects the bullpen. Even if you think you team had injuries, it was not the same extent as the Angels. The Angels did address the starting rotation needs by adding two reliable starters, Bundy and Teheran. These are 2 pitchers that can offer stability if nothing else. We were not able to secure an ace, but we still made the rotation better than it has been. As a fan, intended improvement is all I can ask for. I wouldn’t be surprised if we add an ace during the season if we are in the playoff hunt.
The Yankees play in a division where the only competition is the Red Sox and they have been injured to their top 2 starters. The Rays have a payroll of like 60M. They are talented but young and should be no competition for the 250M Yankees. The Orioles and Blue Jays are just trying not to lose 100 games. Why go after Cole so hard? The reason they lost in the playoffs is because they couldn’t hit. They had plenty of pitching, against the Astros. Cole only pitched once against them and the Yankees lineup was awful. They hit great against teams like the Orioles and Blue Jays, but against teams like the Astros or Nats, you are going to need someone that can hit quality pitching. What did they do to improve the lineup? I am just shocked that with the largest payroll and great baseball minds like yourself pulling the strings that the Yankees don’t win every year. LOL.
It’s exactly the same people who were telling the world that Trout was going to leave for the Phillies this year, book it, bank on it, no doubt whatsoever. They can’t handle the fact that he loves playing for the Angels and was never going to leave. So now they’ve switched to the mindless “They’re wasting Trout!” trope.
Not mindless… you guys are angry, and respond immaturely to people pointing out the Angels should be better. I thought Boston fans were bad.
You guys live in a gigantic glass house and are some of the first to throw stones at other teams’ lack of team improvement.
Trout envy is a lazy excuse for losing. People rooting for the best player to play on the biggest stage isn’t pity, or envy.
All of you guaranteed Cole to the Angels… is that a Cole envy? Is that Yankee envy? By your standards it’s both, and you’re not rooting for the Yankees or Cole, so your envy is far worse.
Stop making childish, defensive, unsubstantiated claims, and people won’t bash you. Admit you need pitching and the Angels didn’t get it.
It’s like talking to a bunch of Al Gore’s about global warming and the world ending in 20 years. 20 years has passed and you refuse to believe the world is still here while calling everyone else ignorant. And you won’t understand the analogy because you can’t see the forest for the trees, respectfully.
At least macstruts has facts for why you lose – HalosHeaven seems very reasonable and Koamalu also.
What about Marsh for Musgrove now ????
But why?
Angels hang up so fast. Musgrove sucks lol
“While it is perhaps understanding that teams were wary of committing multiple years to a 32-year-old catcher”
Understanding, indeed.
More seriously, this phrasing is always frustrating:
“it is maybe still a bit of a surprise that Castro wasn’t able to get more than one year”
He very possibly and perhaps likely was able to get more than one year, but on terms he found less agreeable, like 2/$8m or 2/$9m. It might be kind of a minor nuance and readers get the point but it is blatantly wrong/not based on actual info enough that MLBTR should really have a style-guide rule against it. The better phrase would be “that Castro didn’t get more than one year” if it wasn’t clear.
“It might be kind of a minor nuance and readers get the point but it is blatantly wrong/not based on actual info enough that MLBTR should really have a style-guide rule against it.”
But your argument that “He very possibly and perhaps likely was able to get more than one year, but on terms he found less agreeable” is not based on actual info. It’s a supposition.
You’re also using “was able to get” as roughly equivalent to “had offers for” which isn’t the way it’s used in the article. What Castro “got” was this contract with the Angels. Any provision not contained within that contract is something he “wasn’t able to get’ regardless of whether or not it was in other contracts he was offered. If he was able to get it, he’d have it. Dig?
Wood makes a lot of sense. They picked up two innings eaters, now they can get a riskier player with #2 upside.
$6,85 million…..about $5 million will go for California taxes !
Did he also get free Disney passes for the family also ?
Just a Disney + subscription
Sign Chirinos too. Castro never plays a full season.
The Angels have plenty of infield depth. Fletcher, Rengifo and LaStella, wpuld be fine with me. If the Angels can get Bauer for Simmons pretty much str8 up, i say do it. They have a glaring need for top of the rotation guy. To compete against the Astros they absolutely need to find that starter. Simmons is great but hes getting older and his contract is up next year as well
Nooooooo! Yankees need a backup and prefer someone that has caught Cole
Then you’re more likely to trade for Stassi than to sign Chirinos. He’s not signing anywhere that won’t guarantee him being the starter.
yanks are tapped out
Good thing nobody bet me $20 😉
Good move…
Now get some pitching!
Good move. I’d like to see us bring in a second catcher as a backup. If Castro gets hurt, I don’t think I can handle another season of Stassi.
I dig it!
Go Angels!!
great to see you post here, buddy!
Yay Buddy!
Much needed. I wanted him two years ago. And I would’ve preferred MLBTR be righ on a 2 year deal.
Castro doesn’t get much credit for his offense. His ability to find the barrel is actually pretty elite. Also, the five hitting profiles most similar to Castro in 2019 were Brandon Lowe, Keston Hiura, Ronald Acuna, Yordan Alvarez and Bryce Harper.
Mets will regret this too
Yup, insert snarky Angels fans comments (over a 100 times)
HERE…..
The ones that do project that on everyone else too. But there are some very cordial fans on this site that are willing to have objective conversations: Shout out to HalosHeavenJJ, koamalu, and macstruts. Many others act like you called their child ugly if you opine on an unfavorable Angels topic
Can’t hit, didn’t throw out runners last year and will be 33. Angels once again overpay for a player. Unless he’s a mentor for their future catcher this isn’t a good signing.
Well….your first comment only proves that you didn’t even read the article above. As “Castro enjoyed his best season at the plate since 2013”. So…wow….yeah…thanks for your input as I for one look forward to disregarding it in the future.
khouse I knew someone would make a false argument over Castro’s 2019 offensive season. Congrats. You just justified an overpay to a guy who may not play 100 games. Also, if you saw his numbers from 2014-2018, it’s not hard to have “his best season at the plate since 2013.”
If you’re scoring at home: khouse is a no-nothing. Thank you for bringing zilch to the table.
As far as throwing… who steals anymore? Last year he was an average catcher, which is a far cry from what the Angels had last year.
it’s a two win improvement, since he is one of the best pitch framers, maybe more. No way am I unhappy about this.
Mac, stop with the pitch framing crap. Most of that hinges on the pitchers on the mound. Don’t believe me? Check 2015 when Russell Martin was saddled with catching RA Dickey. He was one of the best pitch framers and his numbers lagged because of the knuckler. Referencing pitch framing is a fool’s game. Your Angels could have landed a great pitch framer at a fraction of the cost. And Martin was still shutting down the running game in-spite of it!
Gary Sanchez outranked Martin in 2016 (again, catching Dickey). In what world are we going to pretend Sanchez is a better receiver than Martin? Pitch framing is a very flawed stat.
Castro played in 70-something games. That’s not reliable by any means. The money could have been better spent.
It’s not “crap’. Do the type of pitchers you have help… sure. However., that was the last thing I talked about and it wasn’t exactly a powerhouse comment.
“it’s a two win improvement, since he is one of the best pitch framers, maybe more.
And I don’t see how it doesn’t help Canning. He’s exactly the kind of pitcher you are talking about.
So don’t give him the “maybe more.” The Angels had a negative WAR from their catchers last year. This helps a lot.
I don’t think it helps much at all. We will see come July.
Only a fool doesn;t reference pitch framing. The best gain their teams 20+ runs a year over average and more than 40 runs over the worst pitch framers. Castro will gain us 6-7 runs just at pitch framing.
Only a fool would mention a type of pitcher that doesn’t exist anymore as a reason to discount pitch framing.
The only better pitch framing catcher available in free agency was Plawecki and he hits RH. We needed a LH hitting catcher. Plawecki had a 64 OPS+ and 63 wRC+. Castro had a 101 OPS + and 103 wRC+.
Only a fool would think throwing out runners is more important than pitch framing. The best at throwing out runners saved his team 4 runs over the worst last season.. The difference between Posey and Castro was 1.9 runs for the season.
We needed a catcher. The money could not have been better spent.
Koamalu is triggered. Again. Hate to do this but someone should…
– Your math is nothing more than a mere prediction for an aging catcher with a brand new team. To stand by what you said is foolish.
– So you believe Gary Sanchez was a better framer than Russell Martin? If you rely on the data rather than the naked eye then your take is null and void.
– You think Castro can hit? Fine. Maybe he will. The main point was the Angels overpaid for Castro. Big time. And I think his stick will take a step back.
– I never said throwing out runners was “more important”, but if Castro’s numbers continue to fall backward that is not a good sign. Your data won’t show you any games he will cost because he cannot shut down the running game. But you twisted words because that’s what you do.
You got your catcher. You still have shaky pitching.
Wow. Everything you said was wrong.
My “math” was the stats. That is what actually happened. Pitch framing has nothing to do with teams. It has to do with the catcher. That you don;t understand that tells us all we need to know about your lack of knowledge of the skill.
There are no pitchers that throw knuckleballs anymore, so that is a stupid comparison. Martin still rated higher in pitch framing than Sanchez. 15.8 runs saved in 2016 for Martin and 1.0 for Sanchez. A 14.8 run difference. Getting the stats correct matters if you are going to call someone else out and you got them dead wrong.
Throwing runs are throwing runs. They represent how catchers control the running game. There is no other way to measure what happened. Castro didn’t regress in 2019. He went from -0.2 runs in 2017, his last full season, to -0.3 runs in 2019. Literally not statistically relevant, but why let facts stand in the way of your trolling.
Castro got paid about what was expected in this market. He improves our team by 2 wins. That is worth $16+ million.
End of conversation.
who cares what you think.
It clearly didn’t with your diatribe below.
kings – clearly the people who answered?
Why do you feed the troll?
What do you expect catchers to hit? He’s likely going to have about a .330 OBP with 10-15 HR’s, and that’s huge for any team from the bottom third any batting order. Catchers don’t just hit like that. Basically a left handed Chris Iannetta with better defense. Not great defense but good enough. The rest is up to his pitching staff.
Expecting a catcher to hit better than .231/.313/.435 when you’re making $6.5 million dollars. If that’s asking too much then I guess I have high expectations.
His career numbers aren’t good in Anaheim also. Not an easy park to hit bombs. At 33 I expect regression.
A league average catcher hit .236/.308/.405/.713 with an 85 wRC+.
Castro hit .232/.332/.435/.767 with a 103 wRC+
Target Field had a 0.870 park factor for HR
The Big A had a 1.081 park factor for HR.
That makes it a 20% easier place to hit HR than Target Field and 13% easier than league average. .
With all your assumptions being wrong, your predictions are going to be as well.
Well, we’ll sure let Castro know what you think/expect WereAllJustGuestsHere & just hope that, it doesn’t crush him too deeply LOL! Hey…here’s an idea…instead of directing all your energy to your own self-aggrandizement here…maybe, you should re-focus it on getting over yourself.
I see this bothers you more than it does me. Hedge your bets on Castro. I have no problem admitting I am wrong if Castro performs. I’ll be prepared to do that. Until then please don’t give me all the power to affect you. Afterall, you brought up the word aggrandizement.
In relation to his peers behind the plate, Castro is an above-average hitter. Of catchers with at least 250 at-bats, Castro ranked 15th in FanGraphs WAR, ranked 4th in base on balls percentage & ranked 15th in wRC+.
As it relates to the Angels…2012-14, Chris Iannetta & 2010 Mike Napoli were the only Angel catchers in the 2010’s to post a higher wRC+ than Castro did last season.
Plus, as other’s have mentioned, the move is pretty low-risk for the Angels given that his contract is only for 1 year.
Again, using data without actually thinking. Maybe this will teach you:
Jason Castro is a middle-pull hitter. Target Field’s dimensions is 367 to RCF and 328 down the RF line. Looking up online, which is your specialty, RF line is 350 and 370 to RCF. A 22 foot difference down the line and you want to bring park factors to argue for a player who barely hits and does not hit to LF with power all that much. LF line is 347 in Anaheim, 8 feet further than Target.
As the saying goes, don’t play the numbers play the man. Keep you numbers and pray. We hope you learned something from this easy lesson.
2019 – 13 HR
Homeruns at Home – 7
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 3
=Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF: 4
Homeruns Away – 6
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 3
-Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF = 3
2018 – 1 HR
-Homeruns Away – 1
Hit to LF/LF=CF/CF – 1
2017 – 10 HR
Homeruns at Home – 6
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 3
=Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF: 3
Homeruns Away – 4
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 2
-Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF = 2
2016 – 11 HR
Homeruns at Home – 5
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 2
=Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF: 3
Homeruns Away – 6
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 5
-Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF = 1
2015 – 11 HR
Homeruns at Home – 8
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 5
=Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF: 3
Homeruns Away – 3
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 2
-Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF = 1
2014 – 14 HR
Homeruns at Home – 10
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 7
=Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF: 3
Homeruns Away – 4
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 2
-Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF = 2
2013 – 18 HR
Homeruns at Home – 13
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 9
=Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF: 4
Homeruns Away – 4
-Hit to RF/RF-CF – 2
-Hit to LF/LF-CF/CF = 2
And 7 of his first 8 career HRs went RF/RF-CF
So looks like what we actually have is a traditional pull hitter who developed the ability/tendency to go the other way much more regularly. His spray charts for his Minnesota tenure reflect this balls to all fields approach with non-HR batted balls, including a noticeable ability to hit line drives the other way.
It’s almost as if Park Factor takes more into consideration than the difference in outfield-fence distance difference. Which you know because you use a version of it to cut Nolan Arenado’s career in half, then completely discard the home games, and dimensions doesn’t come up.
You can go back to the unrealistic expectations for offensive output at catcher and acting as if a 1 year, 6.5 million dollar contract is somehow an astronomical amount for above average production behind the plate and a veteran game caller to guide the as-always-uncertain pitching staff (with pitch-framin’ skills!).
What are debating here…..you’ve got a second string, 30+ year old, career .231 hitting catcher with good defensive skills, that signed a terrific contract in a year where the catching options were extremely thin to say the least….and were debating about his hitting prowess and how he deserved the contract?
He’s an average major league staring catcher, not a second string catcher. He may have added value because of his pitch framing skills.
Compared to what that Angels were sending out there last year, that’s a godsend.
Other than that, I’m not sure what anyone is saying.
@rocky7 You know chicks dig the guys that argue about a second string, 30+ year old, career .231 hitting catcher with good defensive skills
Oooooh, baseball minutiae line drawn hard in the dirt via a “what chicks dig” jab a’la prime Ted McGinley.
Also Mrs. Castro, Jason’s mother, would probably at least “dig” me making the effort. You’re welcome, ma’am.
#micdrop on the troll.
Koamalu…just visiting to let you know I was right and you were wrong. It’s something you should be used to. This wasn’t difficult. You say you are involved in baseball. Find a new line of work because your analysis is not helpful to anyone.
That was a brutal take down of Weareall dude, Nice.
And yet I was 100% correct in my assertion of Jason Castro.
Building themselves a solid little team over there on the west coast. World Series type? Idk… but definitely heading in the right direction
When that “nice little team on the west coast” can win more than 1/3 of the games they play against the 2 teams in front of them…namely the Astros and A’s…then give us a call….They’ve gotten SMOKED by the Astros and A’s and don’t see any of that changing anytime soon with the talent on those 2….the Angels aren’t even close!
Come on rocky. You can’t say the Angels don’t’ have one of the most potent line-ups and arguably the best infield in the game with Trout behind them. Now they have a great catcher behind the plate. Rendon allows LaStella to take 1B from AP to rest him. Ohtani is back on the mound, etc. They are down to needing one solid front end pitchier to round out the rotation. Without that pitcher, they are still a much better team this year than last, including the rotation. The Astros aren’t as good as they were. I believe the AL West playing field is as even as it’s been in a long time.
People who don’t follow the Angels typically can’t get past their record.
Which is fine, but they talk about the team as if they are experts. In reality, they don’t know a thing about the team.
Yeah, pot stirrers. They just want to get a reaction. Many of them criticize us for not getting Cole. I said before he was signed, that I believe we should not go over 7/210m. The smartest thing we did this offseason was not signing Cole for 9/324m. The Yankees will be anchored to that contract for almost a decade.
The A’s and Astros smoked the Angels last year.
Of course the team the Angels are sending out this year doesn’t resemble the team they are sent out last year and the A’s pitchers they are sending out this year doesn’t resemble the staff they are sent out last year.
And of course what happened last year doesn’t count in the standings.