11:16am: Castro can currently run, play defense and hit from the right side of the plate but cannot take a left-handed swing without pain, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports. He’s dealing with a Grade 1 strain.
9:50am: The Twins announced this morning that they’ve placed utilityman Willi Castro on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 21, with a strained right oblique muscle. Fellow utilityman Mickey Gasper was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul in his place.
Castro hasn’t played in a week due to ongoing discomfort in his right side. The Twins had clearly hoped to avoid an IL stint but finally bit the bullet rather than continuing onward with a short bench. Injured list placements can only be backdated by a maximum of three days, so despite Castro’s already weeklong absence, he’ll be sidelined for at least another week. The team hasn’t provided a more concrete timetable on his potential recovery yet.
It’s been a tough start to the season for Castro, as has been the case for the majority of Minnesota’s roster. The versatile 28-year-old has appeared in 18 games and tallied 72 plate appearances but mustered only a .227/.292/.364 batting line. That’s a far cry from the solid .251/.334/.395 output turned in by the switch-hitter across the 2023-24 seasons.
The switch-hitting Castro originally signed a minor league deal with the Twins in the 2022-23 offseason, and it’s proven to be a steal. He joined the roster early in 2023 and has produced slightly better-than-average results in the batter’s box while chipping in a hefty 47 steals and playing every position on the diamond other than catcher or first base (including 4 2/3 innings of mop-up relief).
Castro isn’t necessarily a plus defender anywhere, but he’s drawn average defensive grades for his work at second base, third base and in the outfield corners during his time with the Twins. He’s miscast as a regular shortstop or center fielder but can capably handle either spot in a pinch, which is no small perk for a Twins team that has seen frequent injuries to both Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton over the years.
Minnesota is out to a dismal 9-15 start this season, which makes any injury situation to a veteran player a bit more notable. If the Twins can’t recover from their slow start, a healthy Castro would stand as an obvious candidate to be flipped for some younger talent ahead of July’s trade deadline. He’s earning $6.4MM in his final season of club control. And, as a pending free agent, Castro will hope to avoid any lengthy stay on the injured list. If he can right the ship and post numbers more closely in line with his 2023-24 production, he’d surely be in line to command a multi-year deal ahead of what would be his age-29 season in 2026.
Maybe it’s having a new hitting coach this year
.227/.292/.364 isn’t a far cry from .251/.334/.395 after only 72 PA.
That’s a couple of balls just foul down the line and a nice diving stop or two.
I’m expecting the Twins’ trade deadline plan is a fire sale. $145M payroll, which is on par with The Tigers and significantly lower than Cleveland and the fact that they’re not winning would be a good reason to do so.
One can only hope. This team clearly isn’t playoff capable
With them being rumored to sell, it makes perfect sense there will be a sell off.
Players get injured so much more than they did in the 80s and before. I don’t know why but it’s striking.
I’m sure players tended to tough it out more often due to lower salaries as well as peer pressure back then. Not to mention the game seems to be more fast paced nowadays which allows for less rest. As for pitchers, loads of reasons
It’s not faster paced.
anddddd how is that? Hello pitch clock?
How does one compare their memories of MLB from 40 years ago to their observations about today’s baseball?
Answer: it’s not even remotely based on facts.
Fun fact, when pitchers got injured 40 years ago they didn’t rebuild them like they do today.
Most pitchers throw 95+ now too. It’s a different game
once again, they could have put him on the IL last week….but no. wait. play shorthanded – although, calling up Gasper keeps them shorthanded
I was appalled that simulations and experts called this train wreck of a team to be the favorite in the division. Turns out, they should hire me. On a separate note, how bout them Tigers?! Lol
When “and” begins the sentence, it shouldn’t have a comma after it.