JANUARY 7: This deal is now official.
JANUARY 3: The Nationals have a deal with infielder Starlin Castro, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). It’s a two-year arrangement, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link). The deal promises the Magnus Sports client $12MM, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Castro will be tasked with handling second base for the defending World Series champs. Fellow free agents Brian Dozier and Asdrubal Cabrera handled most of the work at that position last year in D.C.
The Nationals have seen plenty of Castro over the past several seasons, as he has appeared with the division-rival Marlins. He has had ups and downs over the years, but has always showed up — averaging 149 games per season since 2011 — and typically delivered a useful combination of league-average offensive production and average glovework. Poorly graded baserunning has long been a bit of a drag on his overall value.
It’s not an exciting signing, by any stretch, but does check a box for the Nats. And perhaps the club sees reason to hope for a bit more out of Castro. He’s still just 29 years of age and vastly increased his offensive productivity in the second half of the 2019 campaign. In his final 285 plate appearances of the year, he slashed a hefty .302/.334/.558 with 16 long balls. He’s never going to draw many walks, so the question is Castro can continue to make better contact — both harder and higher — and thus maintain a meaningful portion of that second-half power outburst.
Even if Castro enters the season as the presumptive second baseman, he could ultimately move into a more flexible role — especially if top prospect Carter Kieboom forces his way into an everyday role. Castro has plenty of experience on the left side of the infield and could become part of a timeshare at third base if that becomes desirable (whether in the first or second year of the deal). Castro would pair well with a lefty hitter, as he has long been much more dangerous against southpaws.
As things stand, the Nats would rely upon the switch-hitting Wilmer Difo to spell Castro and shortstop Trea Turner. The team could pursue an upgrade over Difo. It might also add a more offensive-oriented player who can spend time at first base. There could be some overlap there, as well. The team’s ultimate moves at third base — Josh Donaldson remains the chief target, with a few major trade candidates also possible — may end up dictating the finishing touches on the bench. Whether or not Ryan Zimmerman ends up returning will also be a factor.
Nice!!!! good addition!
I recall someone suggesting this in the will smith thread. good call whoever it was.
It should count towards their free agent guess totals! Even if he was not in the top 50.
You remember that from the Wil Smith thread ???
That was me . Lol
Love the pickup. Thanks
Ayeeee happy starlin went to a good team dude deserves to win
He’s been on good teams, he’s always just a year off. I really feel bad for him. Was there thru the whole rebuild with the Cubs, got a taste of success in ‘15, then traded that offseason and missed out on the title. Traded away from the Yankees right when they started buying again. Now goes to Washington the year after they win it all. Someday he’ll get his title, I hope.
Take him over Kolten Wong every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I would trade you tomorrow.
you don’t watch baseball very much, do you?
No he doesn’t lol
You think defense at 2B means something in today’s game, don’t you? Here’s a clue…it doesn’t, and frankly, Wong is a glorified hot dog who took 6 years to finally have a decent season. But keep your little Oscar Mayer at 2B. He’s nothing more than an arrogant p—k.
Have you guys realized yet that the World Champs signed Castro? Cheaper than mustard covered Wong.
Robust Racism!
Racism? LOL. How did you come up with that nonsense?
Mustard covered? Please.
K
Tellin ya, theyre allocating the money they were going to spend on JD once again. We’ll be seeing Josh is going back to ATL by Monday morning.
That’s what it seems like, maybe Donaldson has let them know and now they’re going to back up plans? My guess is we get a Donaldson decision by the end of the weekend.
Rosenthal tweeted that this deal doesn’t take the Nationals out of the running for Donaldson, but I’m sure they’re hedging their bets
6M/yrs takes them out of nothing. Getting a 2B or 3B was always a minimum.
Gumbo, I would somewhat agree, but you have to add in Will Harris. Those two signings so quickly certainly seems to indicate a sudden decision to spend money. Those guys have been out there a while so why all the sudden unless something has changed on the JD front?
That being said, they could be trying to send the message to JD that they are serious about a repeat. So it could go either way. The Nats have already stated they are not afraid to cross the tax threshold.
Speaking of the tax threshold, does anyone really get why teams like the Yankees and Dodgers are worried about it? I mean, even if the Yankees were a max repeat offender with a $400 million payroll, they would still bring in more profits than two thirds of the teams in MLB. Boston going crazy over a $12m tax is also just nuts to me. Crazy stuff when people complain about other teams not spending 100% of their balance sheet.
Um, nope. The Yankees and all the other teams are businesses, all separate entities in a highly collusive industry. No one wins if the BoSox, Cubs, Dodgers, and Yankees flex their market muscles way past the rest. However, the industry does have problems if the Rays, Marlins, and As continue to neglect their fan base by not spending on better products. Whether that be the stadiums or payrolls that they can easily afford but don’t spend on.
You are attacking small market clubs. And the funny part is, you attacked A’s and Ray’s when they know how to win without spending. But fail to mention Phillies,Angels, Padres, and others spend and can’t even get a winning record.
It sounds like you are a fan of some Big Market team and don’t value the wits it takes for small markets to compete. Ray’s and A’s are just examples of small market team using their wits to win each year. Twins, Indians, and a few others are other examples of wits before the cash.
It’s not Donaldson but I mean you could do worse than Castro if he winds up being the 3B. I’d put money towards the pen. Bring back Hudson. Sign Felix Hernandez Cahill and Cashner as pen options. Bring in wood for so depth.
Please keep Felix out of the pen in DC unless it’s on a minor league deal and he has an extremely short leash. I love King Felix, but he’s washed up now. Don’t think he’ll gain enough velocity with a pen move to mean anything. That arm is dead.
I had completely forgotten that Felix is a free agent. Someone is going to take a flier on him, possibly any of the Dodgers, Cubs, Astros, Mets, Phillies, Braves or even the Yankees if they can move Happ, especially with German out for 63 games.
I’d be happy taking my chances with Hernandez as a #5 for two months and releasing him when German is ready to go if he’s really finished. I have the feeling pitching in meaningful games might reinvigorate him, though.
Don’t know that a contender would give him much of a leash. A team like KC, Pittsburgh or maybe SD might be a better fit. Flip him if he shows something.
This doesn’t take them out of Donaldson and Hudson is not coming back after the Harris deal
Hernandez, Cahill and Cashner?? I thought they wanted to compete not go all Eppler- Angels and waste $$$ on poor pitching.
They still need pen pieces. Doubt they trade for some. So either dumpster dive for known relief pitchers OR try converting sps into only pen options, not half starter half pen, and see if you can catch lightning in a bottle.
Not many.
Doo, harris, Rainey, Strickland, suero, Guerra are there.
That’s strike two Larry! Soon Mr.Angel Fan (handle) is going to say that people outside CA have stupid accents and are jealous because their women are fat and ugly – yes he actually wrote that on the Jason Castro board addressing anyone who criticizes the Angels. Lololol.
It literally says 2b
“Even if Castro enters the season as the presumptive second baseman, he could ultimately move into a more flexible role — especially if top prospect Carter Kieboom forces his way into an everyday role.”
In case you were confused, flexible means other positions than 2b. If kieboom is ready, most likely is and will show it in St, theyll put him at 2b and Castro at 3b, possibly.
I thought Kieboom was already assumed to be starting in 2020? Castro is def a backup plan to 3b, wonder if the Nats were told JD wasn’t going to sign with them
That is a TON of forfeited offense out of the 3B position.
JD going back home to the Braves
You literally don’t know how to read a full article.
About Felix, he needs a lot of work done to fix things before even considering such a move.
I agree with hallwagner1 about King Felix, and would strongly recommend not signing Cahill either after seeing him up close in Anaheim last year.
Nationals must not be high on defence. Castro makes too many errors.
Nationals must not be high on defence. Castro makes too many errors.
Where is he going to play?
at the current time id say 2B with Howie at 1B
underrated player. wish Klentak got him for the bench.
12 million for a .8 WAR doesn’t seem underrated to me
Didi: One year at $14 million.
Castro: Two years at $6 million per.
Nats made the wiser move IMHO.
Klentak is in over his head. Can’t recognize talent. All he can do is spend Cigar Guy’s money. Hope I’m wrong, but that Wheeler deal, given his injury history, could blow up in MK’s face big time.
Would have liked MK to sign Hill, but Twins got him pretty cheap. Hill, even if he can’t pitch until June, would have been a huge upgrade over Velasquez or Pivetta, both of whom I believe should be put in the bullpen and left there.
Cigar Guy, that just cracks me up. I love your edgy sense of humor, Lou Orlando. You seem like a really fun person to hangout with. Whadaya say?…
Does this mean that Kieboom starts at AAA?
Yes Rizzo wants Kieboom to fight his way into the majors
probably, unless they are interested in moving him to the corners
Starlin gives them protection for Kieboom and Difo
Yes. I think it’s like Dozier. He was for 8M, I think, but played little down the stretch. He’s worth a flyer with his youth and versatility.
so is dozier gone 100% now?
He was gone anyway
What I want to know is does this put me them out of the Donaldson sweepstakes. Is it between the twins and Braves now or is this just a depth move? I heard they were getting close to the tax line.
This doesn’t take them out of the Donaldson race
I can’t imagine it does. They might have signed Castro and part of their thinking was in case theys miss on Donaldson but that’s all.
Castro will play second. Nationals only have 35 players on their 40 man roster. Their payroll is just under 150 mil. They have done a great job managing their roster.
Yea 100 mill on 3 players
50 on other 32
and your point?
fishy… that’s a great blend of top veteran stars and some very young superstars. Then throw in some inexpensive veterans and role players.
I think the Nationals did a great job refining their team after a championship. Look at previous champions and they were afraid to let anyone leave and wanted to add another star or two. That killed their payroll and they never repeated. I think the Nationals have a real shot to repeat.
And that’s how you build a world champion. Yes, they have a ton of money coming from the MASN debacle, but Rizzo’s probably going to spend the lion’s share paying off all those deferrals he built up. Otherwise, let’s remember this isn’t a BIG market team, by any stretch.
Only the very rich can afford to put zillionaires at every position. And, among those, who besides the Red Sox (twice) and Cubs (once) have anything to show for it this decade.
I’m sure losing Tony Two-Bags wasn’t easy. But Rizzo sees the big picture better than most.
bob;
The Nationals ARE a big market team.
The top 5 counties in America by income surround DC. Government guaranteed jobs (DC never had a recession) and government contracts make it a desirable place to live, and people from around the world move there in droves. In fact, DC has a BILLION dollar rail project going as more people need to get into the area from Virginia (it’s probably because they’re all patriotic and want “to serve”).
Nationals attendance is very good – many consulting companies buy season tickets and write it off their taxes as entertainment. Their TV ratings are high. They’ve been among the top spending teams for at least 5 years now.
Might I add that their fans may be the most appreciative in MLB today. Like Dodger fans used to be from ’59 to the late 80’s. The only ex-player I recall getting booed there when returning to play for another team is Bryce Harper. Among others, I saw Wilson Ramos and Kurt Suzuki get extended standing ovations in their first AB as a visitor.
Ummm Nats ranked 16th out of 30 in attendance in 2019. The DC/Balt area market is one of the larger by population, but the market is shared by two MLB teams in the area. Lots of folks attracted to the DC area and federal gov’t jobs come from outside the DC area and are fans of other MLB teams.
https://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/baseball_markets.shtml
http://www.espn.com/mlb/attendance
“Might i add that their fans may be the most appreciative fans in MLB today”
Winning a World Series kind of helps that.
Those same fans who booed Harper also apparently attacked his wife and kid
Those same “fans” that have been fans for a little over a decade. Anyone over the age of 30 who is a “diehard” nationals fans makes me laugh.
If these last 2 recent signings prove to be as beneficial as signing annibal & Suzuki away from the Braves last offseason, Rizzo is the smartest man in the room once AGAIN.
Than the gods the dozier experiment is over
Have to give the MIN FO all the credit in the world for not extending him 3 years ago. They saw his decline on the near horizon. He’ll probably sign 1-year deals as a placeholder for the next couple seasons before retiring.
They can have him.
Castro to the Nationals sounds like a political move.
Lol sure does
It isn’t the first Nationalization by a Castro.
Solid. Almost assures Howie will play 1B exclusively. They should sign a guy like Logan Morrison to pair with Kendrick and provide some lefty pop off the bench
Agree but I would say Eric Thames or take a flyer on some less expensive like Greg Bird.
Also, what about Zim . Hope he gets another year.
Howie doesn’t move enough to play 2B anymore.
Next to 1B, his best position is 3B.
Make of that what you will.
Will be fun to see Kendrick under-utilized yet again. Last year it was Dozier, now Starlin
“Will be fun to see Kendrick under-utilized yet again.”
@ braves95;
Not at all.
Last year Howie was coming off an injury from 2018. He was told by Davey that as he was getting older, they thought he’d be more effective being spotted. He finished 2019 with a 2.6 WAR in in 334 AB’s. Good year.
Around late July Howie publicly credited Davey with the way he was being used, as it kept him strong in his age 35 season……including in the playoff’s and WS.
That is something the Nationals – as well as other MLB teams – do with older veterans. The object is to get the most effectiveness out of every player on the roster. It’s what the well run teams do.
Donaldson to the Twins
Arrenado to the Braves
Frazier to the Rangers
Castro will play 3B & Kieboom will play 2B
Arenado has a full no trade clause.
What’s to say he wouldn’t waive it for a contender like the Braves?
Or Dodgers?
What’s to say he would, would be the real question.
Arenado can demand a bonus to allow a trade.
Roster Resource has Kieboom at 3B, sorry partner, looks like Castro will play 2B no matter what.
Well if RR says it, it’s set in stone. The Nats have little choice in the matter.
Look, if you aren’t going to include sarc tags we are going to have words…
I don’t want Arenado in Atlanta. That’d be about the most senseless move they could make because they’d be giving up prospects for a guy who MIGHT hit outside of Colorado. The splits don’t paint a pretty picture. Besides, if they were going to spend a quarter of a billion dollars on a 3B, why not just have signed Rendon, and keep the prospects? Why ppl keep wishing for Arenado is beyond me.
Donaldson is the best fit.
Arenado will have to decide whether he wants to sacrifice some of his offensive production to go to a contender because his Away stats are nowhere near as good as his Coor’s stats.
That’s the same thing people said about DJ LeMahieu. Look how that turned out. Another theory is that the need for Rockies players to constantly readjust to differing altitudes, with resulting differences in air density and pitch movement, actually depresses their performance on the road.
Good signing, Starlin has 16oo hits in 9 seasons, not too shabby. He will help the Nats stay on top. He is a similar add as Kendrick was last year, another good veteran options. Starlin comes to play every day and he can hit good pitching.
And he’s still only 29.
He is an interesting player. I liked watching him when he was on the Yankees even though he does have his flaws, but he came to play every day and you cannot question his effort.
I had to look it up, Starlin has exactly 1,617 hits through his age 29 season (just completed). For comparison, Derek Jeter had 1,546 hits through his age 29 season (2003). I know it doesn’t mean anything but I still find that fascinating for some reason (and I’m definitely NOT insinuating that Starlin is a HOF-level player). He’s definitely made the reps year in and year out and the hits have piled up for him. If he keeps getting the opportunities into his 30’s he could sneak up on 3,000 hits.
Good signing for the Nats.
That is really interesting; I would’ve never pegged him for a 3,000 career-hit guy. Hm. Well either way, the Nats unquestionably know how to go after it, unlike other teams of similar markets/finances/talent. What’s great about them is they lose an important piece, they vigorously pursue a replacement, or improve in a different area by making solid trades and signings. They lost Harper (Arguably their most important position player) and didn’t even bat an eye – they went and won the WS.
Good job, Nats! Hopefully we will see you in the WS!
It really illustrates the career value of not missing large chunks of time to injury and/or suspension. The talent has been there since day one. Nats are getting the more mature version of Castro which makes him a much better fit in WAS than he would have been 5 years ago.
I guess this and Harris takes them out of the Donaldson Sweepstakes?
No, Rosenthal reported that it has not.
And you trust that?
Yes, if JD wanted to sign w the Nats, he’d have done so, don’t you think? He wants to remain w the Braves, I can’t imagine why he’d join the Twins. Maybe Cubs-Nats trade? But Robles is untouchable, Kieboom and other prospects are available. 2 cents from a Nats fan.
stingy nats won’t part w keiboom and shouldn’t and won’t have too. Bryant’s trade value is next to nothing. Cubs have to trade him. There will be a couple buyers due to 3rd base need but when you can’t even get Nick senzel for Lindor no way cubs are getting top prospects for Bryant.
Serviceable player. I would have thought Castro would not have cost that much, but the cost of not having a serviceable player at 2b would cost the team a lot more than 6 million a year.
very interesting move
another nice signing by the Nationals…
$11.9M is deferred til they end of time
Nice to see Starlin get a shot playing for a contender. Been dealt a tough hand as far as competitiveness. Traded before the cubs competitive run, traded before this current Yankees run. As a cubs fan, wish him nothing but the best.
With the depth already on the roster, I would have preferred the Nats made a move on a bounceback candidate like Scooter Gennett, someone with a little more upside, even if there’s risk there.
They should still get Gennett to platoon with Kendrick at 1B
aaand also Bryant or Donaldson for 3B.
Nats probably still in on driving up Donaldson’s contract cost, not actually trying to sign him. Could try for Bryant but doubt the Cubs accept what the Nats offer. Otherwise Nats will probably just add a Gennett or Cabrera or 2 on short term year deals as depth/insurance for Kieboom.
Solid signing at a good price tag. Castro at worst is a solid utility guy cable of handling 2B, SS, and got some experience at 3B with the Marlins last year.
A good value signing!
So if Donaldson does end up re-signing with the Braves does that mean Castro takes over third base?
No Castro is playing 2B if that happens. They will still need a 3B and probably one, or maybe put Kieboom there.
(Without a DH) Castro, Howie, and Kieboom will very probably alternate between 2B and 3B, with Howie playing some 1B as well.
For the last 4 months of 2019 the Nationals had 5 regular players when they were healthy – Turner, Eaton, Rendon, Soto, and Robles. Entering 2020 it appears at this point that either they will being in a full-time RH hitting 3B that can bat 3rd replacing Rendon (they do not want Soto 3rd behind Eaton as that would help teams bringing in LH relief pitchers to face Eaton), or they’ll stick with what they have and rotate the guys as noted above.
Howie can bat 3rd when he’s in the game, and Castro when he’s in. So while I’m sure they’d rather have a solid RH run producing 3B hitting 3rd. they can still make do. It appears they resign Matt Adams to play 1B and be a LH platoon bat – probably bat 6th, and if no 3B is brought in, they’ll resign Zim and bat him 5th when he’s in the game. If Robles progresses as they hope, at some point in 2020 he could wind up as the regular #5 hitter….ultimately they hope he’ll take over the #3 spot. He’s big enough to hit with power regularly.
Career .872 OPS in Nationals park over 159 PA? Great move.
Solid signing for them. Hate it….
If alternate universes exist, do the Nationals still win the 2019 championship if Bryce Harper re-signs? This would have caused a gigantic ripple effect for 2020, regardless if the Nats won or not – the ownership probably wouldn’t have been able to re-sign Rendon nor Strasberg, leaving the latter to improve someone else’s rotation.
I sure am glad that the Nats beat those cheating Astros though, even if it meant them ousting my favorite team in the first round.
Letting Harper leave allowed the Nats to become champions. They became a team without him.
Cheap way of saying all the Nationals past failures in the playoffs were Harper’s fault
No. That’s your interpretation…
Spot on actually
Sneaky great signing. Hopefully he can find some success after toiling in purgatory.
When Castro career ends, he will be one the top 75 hits leaders of all time !
He’s having a sneaky stats compiling career like Adrian Beltre.
Great addition for the Nats…….
Donaldson is next.!
I can’t stand the Nationals; but credit where it’s due, this isn’t a bad move.
hopefully he is Difo’s replacement, not Rendon
Better OPS at Nats Park than Tony!
Castro is strictly second base……at times, a back up at third if in need.
Don’t see Zimmerman fitting into the plans with Kieboom, Kendrick and now Castro on the squad. Kendrick could be a good influence on Castro.
Zim probably gets a spring training invite, then continues extended spring training if needed until there’s an injury opening on the roster. 26th roster spot will make it easier to eventually carry him.
Zimmerman will get a 1-2 year deal 9but probably one) AFTER the Nats have made their major signings so they know what’s available for Zimm. His role is completely different now than it was when negotiated his last contract. He is a part time players who is still the most enduring symbol of this team.. That title will most likely pass to Stras when Zimm retires but he has already said he wants to play for Washington his whole career.
No shot they give Zim 2 years. A 1 year deal is going to be a big thank you for what he’s done. He’s going to get a statue. Hopefully if he does come back, it doesn’t end poorly for him.
Hard to see him back now with Asdrubal and Thames signed, assuming Kiebroom is given a real shot.
We Castro nat won’t miss rondon
Like other Braves fans, the idea did occur to me that maybe the Nationals are out on Donaldson now but I think that’s just not realistic. I can’t see what they have spent so far these last few days ending a JDon pursuit.
It might not be without a silver linning though. Picking up a player who you have the option of playing at 3B could be a signal that the Nationals have offered as much as they are going to and so await Donaldsons decision now that they have a back up plan
A Braves fan can hope.
As a Nats fan, I’d have loved to seen Nats sign JD but that ship has sailed imo. He’s staying w the Braves, the team he wants to play for. But JD should tip his cap to Rizzo as the Braves don’t offer that 4th year w/out Rizzo’s pursuit of JD. That’s what my crystal ball says. ( it also says Nats – Braves should be ‘ must see ‘ baseball as they fight for the Division)
Better OPS at Nats Park than Rendon!
Big freakin’ deal, it’s a small sample size. He’s nowhere near the player Rendon is.
Yup, you got that right…159 PAs is a very tiny weeny minuscule sample size. Thanks for pointing that out…
you forgot your
[sarcasm alert]
lol
He might be top 25 all time in hits before age 30.
Ideally Kieboom is ready and Castro fills Difo’s role.
You must be the only one who knows this because if everyone else knew Kieboom would be one of the best hitters of all time and a future hall of famer, he would surely be the no.1 prospect in baseball.
Castro was probably the second best all around free agent second baseman available this off season next to Hernandez.
Curious that the Indians signed Hernandez for one year at 6.5 million and Castro cost the Nationals two years and 12 million.
It would seem the Nationals preferred Castro.
I believe the Pads are paying Profar 5 mil this yr. We could have had an actual ML bat for 6 a yr. What in the actual heck man.
Looks like they are adding depth to be able to make a trade for either Arenado or Bryant. Is Kieboom and Rutledge good enough for Bryant?
That’s not what it sounds like at all….
Great move!!!! I wish the Yankees brought him back as a utility player.
He must already on the Nats- they got a pic of him in a Nats uniform
Castro’s like the infield version of Nick Markakis. Was a big prospect on a bad team, then the best player on a bad team for a few years, then fell out of the public eye playing boring, consistent baseball. Then you hear about him and ask:
1) He’s still around?, and
2) He has HOW many career hits??
I love this trend of fat 2nd basemen. Cincinnati and Washington are definitely onto something here – real out-of-the-box thinking. Rob Manfred!!!
Not a huge move, but I love that the Nats aren’t rolling over after losing Rendon. They’ve upgraded their pen, kept Strasburg (albeit at an exorbitant cost), and appear to be looking to shore up other areas, too. I think this is the year the Braves start living up to their vast potential, but I like that the Nationals are going to give them a fight.
Go Cubs Go
How is a .257 hitter in his thirties with less than 100 rbi worth 25 million a year? Even 37 home runs isn’t as impressive, given the juiced ball, last year. I could maybe buy if it was only a 2 year contract. I guess you are worth what the market says you are, though.