The Rockies and utility player Willi Castro have agreed to a two-year deal, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN. The ISE Baseball client will be guaranteed $12.8MM, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Colorado has a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this official.
Castro, 29 in April, just finished a strong three-year run as one of the better multi-positional players in the sport. That run ended with a deep slump just before he hit free agency but he has still secured a nice deal for himself.
He was non-tendered by the Tigers after the 2022 season and then landed with the Twins via a minor league deal ahead of the 2023 campaign. That minor league pact turned into a huge win for Minnesota. Castro cracked the Opening Day roster in 2023 and went on to have a strong season, getting into 124 games and stepping to the plate 409 times. The switch-hitter launched nine home runs and drew walks at an 8.3% clip. His .257/.339/.411 batting line led to a 107 wRC+, indicating he was seven percent above average at the plate overall. He also stole 33 bases in 38 attempts.
Defensively, he bounced all around the diamond, spending time in all three outfield spots and the three infield positions to the left of first base. He got strong marks almost everywhere the Twins put him. He even got a few mop-up appearances on the mound. The total package added up to 2.5 wins above replacement on the season, according to FanGraphs.
His 2024 season ended up being quite similar. He slashed .247/.331/.385 for a 106 wRC+, swiped 14 bags and played every position except for catcher and first base. His fWAR total nudged up to 2.9 in slightly more playing time.
Last year, he was on essentially the same pace through the trade deadline. He got into 86 games for the Twins, had a .245 /.335 /.407 batting line, 109 wRC+, and nine stolen bases while moving all around.
The Twins fell out of the race and pivoted to selling at the deadline. They flipped Castro to the Cubs for minor league pitchers Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong. Castro’s performance plummeted after the swap. He slashed .170/.245/.240 for a wRC+ of just 40. He wasn’t helped by a .222 batting average on balls in play but the Cubs scaled back his playing time regardless. He only started two of the final 11 games of the regular season. He appeared in two playoff games for the Cubs but without getting sent to the plate.
That was unfortunate timing, with Castro just heading to the open market, but it was also only 110 plate appearances. It seemed possible that clubs would still value his versatility and would focus more on the positives of that three-year run, overlooking the poor finish. At the beginning of the offseason, MLBTR predicted Castro for a two-year, $14MM deal. In December, it was reported that Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Colorado were interested in Castro. The Rockies have landed him by giving him a solid two-year deal just below MLBTR’s prediction.
More to come.
Castro can be used as a deadline piece to get a prospect return. Great move for the Rox and this should give him better offensive numbers.
I think you are bang on there. He must not have been getting the interest he thought he would.
How can you say it is a great move until you know what salary the Rockies are paying to take into account the opportunity cost?
The Rockies aren’t going to offer anything ridiculous and out of budget.
Agreed. It’s a trademark for their organization. Offer good extensions to the players they already have then good cheap contracts in Free Agency (Kris Bryant aside).
The Rockies are about 20 pieces away from being competitive. There is no real opportunity cost for picking up a utility guy to trade in 4 months.
This is the type of move all non contenders should make. Little to no risk with some potential for reward
Seriously was hoping dbacks grabbed him. Great veteran to have
League changing 😭
Good move by Depo!
I like Willi a lot as a util player. Good to see the Rox working.
The new GM is much better. 2 FA moves already!
Here come the Rockies!!
Did they just win the off-season!?
Great move for the Rockies. Wanted the Cubs to add him on the cheap.
Been hearing about this since November. Glad to see it’s finally come to fruition
I hope he goes off.
Colorado’s chances next year are slim to none, so given a good start at the plate, he could bring back a decent haul.
Rockies have been linked to Castro for some time now, and it makes sense to bring a guy like Castro in who can play everywhere, given that we’re not sure of any of our position players outside of Beck, Goodman, Tovar, probably Doyle.
I kept seeing Castro’s name pop up as an alternative to trading for Horner or Donovan. One alternative out of the picture. Cards should just sign the other one and get a deal done before pitchers and catchers pack their bags…..
Sneaky good
Willis a very underrated player. He will like hitting at Coors!