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Willi Castro

Twins Place Michael A. Taylor On 10-Day IL, Activate Willi Castro

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The Twins placed outfielder Michael A. Taylor on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.  Minnesota also announced that utilityman Willi Castro was activated from his own 10-day IL stint to take Taylor’s spot on the active roster.

Acquired from the Royals in an offseason trade, Taylor has been Minnesota’s primary center fielder this season, helping fill the void up the middle since Byron Buxton’s knee issues have limited him to DH duty.  Taylor has delivered his customary excellent defense and also provided the Twins with some unexpected power, as the outfielder has hit a career-best 20 home runs.  While Taylor’s .229/.281/.456 slash line over 354 plate appearances still translates to a slightly below-average 99 wRC+, that still represents Taylor’s best number since his 104 wRC+ with the Nationals in 2017.  Between the glovework, the power, and 13 steals in 14 chances, Taylor has generated 1.9 fWAR, making him a nice under-the-radar contributor to the Twins’ lineup.

Unfortunately, he’ll now miss at least the 10 days healing up a balky hamstring that has been a nagging issue for most of the week.  Losing Taylor is a setback for a Twins club that is still trying to put away the Guardians in the AL Central race, and Minnesota can only hope that Taylor won’t miss much beyond the 10-day minimum.

Castro has seen the second-most innings of any Twins player in center field this season, so the utilityman is likely to be joined by Andrew Stevenson, Jordan Luplow, and Joey Gallo in filling in on the grass while Taylor is out.  Castro hasn’t played since August 11 due to a left oblique strain, but he’ll now return to give Minnesota a versatile depth option all over the diamond.  Left field, third base, and center field have been Castro’s primary positions this year, but he has also seen some time as a second baseman, shortstop, and right fielder.  At the plate, Castro is hitting .241/.322/.371 over 315 PA.

In other Twins outfield news, Buxton continues to recover from a hamstring strain of his own, though he has still been battling patella tendinitis in his bothersome right knee.  Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune) that Buxton’s knee soreness isn’t unexpected, especially since Buxton had recently played center field during his minor league rehab assignment.  This represented Buxton’s first time playing in the field in over a year.

Quick Hits: Castro, Kiermaier, Velasquez, Duvall, Chang

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The Mets and Red Sox each “pushed hard” to sign Willi Castro this past offseason, Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reports (Twitter link), but the utilityman chose to sign a minor league deal with the Twins.  The move has nicely paid off for both the player and the team, as Castro has hit .258/.324/.452 over 103 plate appearances for Minnesota, with two of his four home runs coming in today’s win over the Blue Jays.  Castro’s versatility has also been a boost to an injury-riddled Twins club, as he has seen action as a shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, and in all three outfield positions.

More from around the baseball world as we wrap up a busy Saturday…

  • Vince Velasquez was activated from the 15-day injured list earlier today, but the Pirates right-hander allowed four runs in two innings before being removed from the game due to discomfort in his right elbow.  Velasquez had previously been sidelined by inflammation in that same elbow, and while he is being examined by doctors, it would seem likely that he might be headed back to the IL.  If Velasquez is again out of action, it would continue Roansy Contreras’ time as a starter, since Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported earlier today that Contreras could be headed into a relief role.
  • Kevin Kiermaier made an early exit from today’s Twins/Blue Jays game due to some lower back discomfort.  Toronto manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Kiermaier was feeling sore after a pair of throws, and “with how important he is to us, we wanted to be safe and make sure we didn’t make it worse.”  Kiermaier will receive further examination and is day-to-day for now.  In his first season with the Jays, Kiermaier has been outstanding, hitting .319/.366/.511 over 154 PA while delivering his usual high-level defense in center field.  Given Kiermaier’s long injury history, it makes sense why the Blue Jays would err on the side of caution, and it’s probably safe to assume that Kiermaier won’t play Sunday since Toronto also has a Monday off-day for additional rest.
  • The Red Sox told reporters (including Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe) that Adam Duvall is set to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment on Tuesday.  Duvall was sidelined by a fracture in his left wrist, and a subsequent move to the 60-day IL means that June 9 is the outfielder’s earliest possible return date.  Duvall was off to a huge start prior to his injury, posting a 1.544 OPS in his first 37 PA of the season.  While Duvall is on the road to recovery, Yu Chang’s rehab assignment has been paused due to some soreness in his left hand while swinging.  Chang has missed just over a month due to hamate bone surgery, and his setback isn’t expected to delay his rehab work by any more than a few days, pending further examination.

Twins Select Willi Castro

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The Twins announced their Opening Day roster this evening. Among the group was infielder Willi Castro, indicating Minnesota has selected his contract. Minnesota had a vacancy on the 40-man roster after losing Dennis Santana on waivers a couple weeks ago, so no additional move was necessary.

Castro, 26 next month, heads into what’ll be his fifth consecutive year logging some MLB time. He’d previously spent his entire career with the Tigers, hitting .245/.292/.381 over 303 games for Minnesota’s division foes. That included a .241/.284/.367 line over 392 plate appearances last season. The switch-hitter kept his strikeouts to a decent 20.9% clip but only connected on eight home runs while walking 3.8% of the time.

While Castro’s overall offensive production has been tepid, he’s been solid against left-handed pitching in his career. He owns a .275/.302/.409 slash in 306 plate appearances as a right-handed batter. By comparison, he carries a .233/.288/.370 line against northpaws, striking out significantly more often from the left side of the dish.

Detroit non-tendered him at the end of last season. Castro caught on with Minnesota on a minor league pact and picked up ten hits (including a trio of homers) in 40 at-bats this spring. A 19:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio isn’t ideal but the overall production was solid.

Castro is a versatile defensive option, albeit a player who has never really excelled at any one position. He’s logged a decent amount of playing time at both middle infield positions and the corner outfield spots, with sporadic work in center field and at third base. Public defensive grades haven’t been fond of his work anywhere, with particularly glaring reviews of his shortstop defense. That he’s able to play virtually anywhere nevertheless earns him a spot on the Minnesota bench as the Twins deal with a few injuries headed into the year.

Jorge Polanco is starting the year on the 10-day injured list as he works back from right knee issues that ended his ’22 campaign early. First baseman Alex Kirilloff is also opening the season on the IL, while top prospect Royce Lewis continues to rehab from last year’s ACL tear. Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com tweeted this evening that Lewis is taking at-bats and could soon progress to running the bases. It’s a promising development but he’ll obviously still open the year on the injured list.

Nick Gordon is in the lineup as Minnesota’s Opening Day second baseman. He’ll presumably hold that role until Polanco returns, with Castro, Donovan Solano and Kyle Farmer on hand as depth infielders. Castro still has a minor league option year remaining, so the Twins could send him down to Triple-A St. Paul without having to run him through waivers now that he’s back on a 40-man roster.

Twins Sign Willi Castro To Minor League Deal

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The Twins and utility player Willi Castro are in agreement on a minor league deal, reports Darren Wolfson of SKOR Radio North. Castro will receive an invitation to major league Spring Training.

Castro, 26 in April, first cracked the majors with the Tigers in 2019 and has been serving a utility role for them since. He’s shown some exciting raw tools but has generally struggled to fully break out with the bat. In 303 games thus far in his career, he’s hit 24 home runs but walked in just 4.7% of his trips to the plate and struck out in 24.1% of them. His batting line is currently .245/.292/.381 for wRC+ of 86, indicating he’s been 14% below league average. Inconsistency seems to be a factor in his work at the plate, as he’s only in the 10th percentile in terms of barrel rate and hard hit rate but 79th percentile in terms of maximum exit velocity. In other words, he can crush the ball but just hasn’t been doing it very often.

But he also has other attributes, besides that intermittent power. His sprint speed is in the 78th percentile in the league, which helped him steal nine bases in each of the past two seasons. He also has defensive versatility, having played all three outfield positions and the three infield positions to the left of first base. His arm strength is ranked in the 87th percentile and his outfielder jump in the 78th. As a switch-hitter, he brings versatility to the other side of his game as well.

Castro crossed the three-year service line in 2022 and was eligible for arbitration for the first time this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected him for a raise to a $1.7MM salary in 2023. However, his struggles were enough that the Tigers decided to move on, as they non-tendered Castro at the deadline in November.

For the Twins, they dealt with a mountain of injuries in 2022, making it a logical move to add some depth for 2023. They are loaded with outfielders at the moment, meaning Castro’s best path to retaking a roster spot would likely be the infield. The most likely arrangement on the dirt right now would see Luis Arraez at first base, Jorge Polanco at second, Kyle Farmer at shortstop and Jose Miranda at third. Nick Gordon could be in the utility/bench infielder spot for now, but he’s also in the outfield mix. Royce Lewis could be a factor down the line but he’s recovering from surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee for a second straight year and isn’t expected back until midseason.

If Castro can earn his way into Minnesota’s plans, he still has an option year remaining, which would allow the club to shuffle him between Triple-A and the majors throughout the year. If he impresses enough to work his way into their future plans, he could be retained at least through 2025 via arbitration.

Tigers Non-Tender Jeimer Candelario

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The Tigers are non-tendering third baseman Jeimer Candelario, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press (Twitter link). He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $7MM salary.

Candelario has been the Tigers primary third baseman for the past five seasons. Originally acquired from the Cubs in a 2017 trade, he was manning the hot corner at Comerica Park by the start of the following year. Candelario posted below-average numbers for his first two seasons, but the switch-hitting infielder showed some promise with a .297/.369/.503 line in 52 games during the abbreviated 2020 campaign.

It never looked likely he’d replicate quite that level of production over a full season, but Candelario backed up his numbers with another impressive year. Through 626 trips to the plate in 2021, he posted a .271/.351/.443 showing with 16 longballs and 42 doubles. That brought his two-year line to .278/.356/.458 in more than 800 plate appearances.

Candelario looked like an above-average regular at the hot corner, a productive middle-of-the-order bat with capable defensive marks. Like much of the Detroit lineup, he fell off sharply in 2022. Candelario’s .217/.272/.361 line across 124 games proved a major disappointment. He had some unfortunate batted ball marks, with a .257 average on balls in play well shy of both the .290 league figure and the career .308 BABIP which Candelario carried into the season.

A rebound in his ball in play results would go a long way towards getting things back on track, but the dip isn’t solely attributable to poor luck. Candelario’s 34.6% hard contact rate was almost five percentage points lower than his 2021 mark and down 12 points from where it sat in 2020. He saw a similar decline in his average exit velocity. He hit more ground balls and pop-ups than he had the previous two seasons, while his line drive rate sunk.

Whether to place a roughly $7MM bet on Candelario to right the ship for his final season of arbitration was a key early decision for new president of baseball operations Scott Harris. Detroit opted against doing so, and they could look for third base help this offseason as a result. The Tigers have Ryan Kreidler as an in-house option to play somewhere on the infield, with third base now standing as the clearest path to playing time. Should Detroit add depth at the hot corner in the coming months, Kreidler could push Jonathan Schoop for playing time at second base.

Further thinning their infield depth, Detroit non-tendered utility players Harold Castro and Willi Castro. Both were eligible for arbitration for the first time and projected for salaries in the $2MM range. They each have some infield versatility and bat-to-ball skills, but neither draws many walks or hits for power. The Tigers will look elsewhere for bench depth. Detroit also non-tendered a number of players — Michael Papierski, Miguel Díaz, Kyle Funkhouser and Brendon Davis — who’d previously been designated for assignment.

Candelario, despite his down year, is one of the better free agent options available in a weak third base class. Justin Turner is the top option after being bought out by the Dodgers, while players like Evan Longoria, Jace Peterson and fellow non-tender Brian Anderson make up the next tier.

Tigers Announce Several Transactions, Finalize Opening Day Roster

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The Tigers announced a landslide of roster moves Wednesday as they set their Opening Day roster. Most notable among them is the formal selection of top prospect Spencer Torkelson’s contract. It was already known that Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2020 draft and a consensus top-five prospect in all of baseball, would make the Opening Day roster, but his promotion to the big leagues is now official.

Detroit also selected the contracts of right-handers Drew Hutchison, Jacob Barnes and Will Vest. In a series of corresponding 40-man roster moves, Detroit designated left-hander Miguel Del Pozo for assignment and placed catcher Jake Rogers (recovering from Tommy John surgery), Spencer Turnbull (recovering from Tommy John surgery) and Jose Cisnero (strained right shoulder) on the 60-day injured list.

The Tigers also announced an additional series of placements on the 10-day injured list: lefty Andrew Chafin (groin strain), outfielder Derek Hill (hamstring strain) and righty Kyle Funkhouser (shoulder strain) are all beginning the season on the 10-day IL. Top outfield prospect Riley Greene is being placed on the minor league injured list after fracturing his foot late in Spring Training. The Tigers also announced that righty Elvin Rodriguez made the roster over infielder Willi Castro, and the team has assigned veteran right-handers Chase Anderson (Triple-A) and Wily Peralta (Class-A Advanced) to minor league affiliates to begin the year.

None of Hutchison, Vest or Barnes has an extensive track record of big league success, but they’ve all logged MLB action in the past and will give Detroit some bullpen depth early in the season, particularly while Cisnero sits out at least the first two months of the season mending a shoulder injury. That absence is perhaps the most surprising revelation in today’s sequence of moves. Cisnero was behind schedule to start camp and felt some discomfort in his most recent outing, but prior to today’s announcement there was no indication he’d require such a lengthy absence. It’s a notable loss for the Tigers, given the 32-year-old’s 3.45 ERA, 24 holds and four saves over the past two seasons.

Chafin, who signed a two-year, $13MM contract with an opt-out after the 2022 season will hope for a minimal absence. There’s been no indication from the club that he’s expected to require a long stay on the IL, but he’s been trending toward a 10-day placement since originally experiencing pain at the end of March. Hill has also been ailing since the final day of March, so his move to the IL doesn’t rate as much of a surprise.

As for the 29-year-old Del Pozo, he lasted the offseason on Detroit’s 40-man roster after allowing two runs on eight hits and no walks with four punchouts during a brief Detroit debut late in the 2021 campaign. He’s allowed a total of 20 runs in 18 1/3 Major League innings, however, and didn’t help his cause this spring when he appeared in two games and was tagged for a combined five runs in just one inning of work. Detroit will have a week to trade him or try to pass him through outright waivers.

Veterans Anderson and Peralta will give the Tigers some pitching depth in the minors to begin the season. Anderson joined the club on a minor league deal in mid-March and allowed three earned runs on nine hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts in five innings during camp. He’s struggled substantially in the Majors across the past two seasons but from 2014-19 was a solid back-of-the-rotation arm, logging a combined 3.94 ERA in 857 innings between the D-backs and Brewers.

Peralta seems even likelier to be added to the big league roster, despite his assignment to a Class-A affiliate. The right-hander had a strong showing in Detroit last year after signing a minor league pact, pitching to a 3.07 ERA across 18 appearances (17 starts) — a total of 93 2/3 innings. But Peralta was slow to get to camp, owing to visa issues, and he’ll remain at the Tigers’ Lakeland facility, where their High-A team plays, as he builds up toward game readiness. Peralta didn’t make it to Tigers camp until this past weekend and didn’t have time to get into an official spring game, but once he’s built up he’ll be an option to join the club’s rotation or pitch in a long-relief role.

Tigers Release Nomar Mazara

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JULY 21: Detroit has requested unconditional release waivers on Mazara. He’ll almost certainly clear after 48 hours, at which point he’ll be free to sign elsewhere.

JULY 16: The Tigers announced Friday that they’ve designated outfielder Nomar Mazara for assignment and optioned infielder Willi Castro to Triple-A Toledo. Outfielder Derek Hill and infielder Isaac Paredes are up from Toledo in a pair of corresponding roster moves. Detroit has also appointed lefty Miguel Del Pozo as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Twins.

Still just 26 yeas old, Mazara once ranked as one of baseball’s elite prospects, entering the 2016 season as one of the consensus 25 most promising minor leaguers in the sport. He looked the part when he made his MLB debut that season, too, hitting .266/.320/.419 with 20 home runs in 145 games. It wasn’t a dominant showing, of course, but Mazara was just 21 years old at the time and was making the jump with only 23 Triple-A games under his belt. It was an impressive showing, and it was reasonable to expect that he’d only improve with more reps against big league pitching.

That, however, never really proved true. Mazara spent the next four seasons as the primary right fielder in Texas but more or less just kept repeating his 2016 season. He posted a 93 OPS and 91 wRC+ as a rookie in ’16 and, from 2017-19, posted collective marks of 94 and 92 in those same respective categories. He hit exactly 20 home runs again in 2017 and 2018 before hitting 19 in 2019. Essentially, he’d settled in as a slightly below-average hitter with well below-average defensive grades. The Rangers trade him to the White Sox during the 2019 Winter Meetings.

At that point, Mazara was a highly interesting change-of-scenery candidate. He’d plateaued in Arlington, to be sure, but he was a former Top 25 prospect who was heading into his age-25 season with two years of club control remaining. For the White Sox, it was a sensible enough roll of the dice to see if they could help Mazara take the next step. Instead, he turned in a career-worst .228/.295/.294 batting line with just one home run and a career-high 29.5 percent strikeout rate through 149 plate appearances last summer. Chicago non-tendered him in the offseason.

Mazara took a chance with his second AL Central club, landing with the Tigers on a one-year, $1.75MM deal late in the offseason. Things have gone a bit better in Detroit than in Chicago, but only by a slight margin. Mazara’s strikeouts are down a bit and he’s shown a little more pop. However, his overall .212/.276/.321 batting line through 181 plate appearances so far simply wasn’t enough for the Tigers to keep giving him at-bats over more controllable players who are hoping to emerge as long-term fits in Detroit.

The Tigers will have a week to trade Mazara, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or place him on release waivers. Mazara has more than five years of service time, so even if he does go through outright waivers without a claim, he can reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues and retain the entirety of his remaining salary. It’s unlikely that another club would claim that salary, given his poor showing at the plate. The likeliest outcome is that Mazara becomes a free agent, whether via unconditional release from the team or via rejecting an outright assignment. At that point, he’d be free to sign elsewhere for only the prorated league minimum. That amount would be subtracted from the roughly $753K the Tigers still owe him through season’s end.

Hill, 25, is a former Tigers first-rounder who has had some sparse big league looks but hasn’t yet had a lengthy audition. He’s hitting .320./.373/.508 in 133 Triple-A plate appearances, however, and he’ll now return to Detroit for his second stint of the 2021 campaign.

The 22-year-old Paredes has been ranked among the Tigers’ better prospects since coming to the Tigers alongside Jeimer Candelario in the 2017 trade that sent Justin Wilson and Alex Avila to the Cubs. He hasn’t hit much in 145 prior MLB plate appearances, but his .261/.357/.412 slash in Triple-A will net him a look over the struggling Castro — another infield prospect who has stumbled to a .214/.278/.341 slash through 280 plate appearances with the big league club so far in 2021.

Tigers Place Willi Castro On Injured List

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9:52AM: Castro has been officially placed on the IL, the Tigers announced, and infielder Sergio Alcantara has been added to the active roster.

8:26AM: Tigers shortstop Willi Castro left Saturday’s game in the second inning due to right shoulder soreness, and manager Lloyd McClendon told The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen and other reporters that Castro will be placed on the 10-day injured list.  The placement will allow the Tigers to add a healthy player to the roster for today’s final game of the regular season schedule (barring more potential action on Monday, depending on what happens with the Cardinals’ playoff situation).

Castro seemed to tweak his shoulder during a swing, though he finished his plate appearance and even delivered an RBI single for what ended up being the winning run in a 4-3 Tigers victory over the Royals.  Castro was replaced by a pinch-runner after his hit, bringing a premature end to an outstanding rookie season.  After posting only a .624 OPS over 110 PA in 2019, Castro exploded to hit .349/.381/.550 with six homers over 140 plate appearances this season.

A .448 BABIP is undoubtedly a big contributor to Castro’s production, and his Statcast numbers reveal some mediocre hard-hit ball and exit velocity totals.  That said, Castro’s 9.6% barrel rate is above-average (64th percentile) and his .365 xwOBA is respectably close to his .387 wOBA.  There’s plenty here for the Tigers to like about the 23-year-old, who came to the Motor City in the trade deadline swap with the Indians in 2018 that saw Leonys Martin head to Cleveland.

Castro seems to have earned himself a place in Detroit’s infield mix going forward, though it remains to be seen if he’ll stick at shortstop given a lackluster (-3.3 UZR/150, -7 Defensive Runs Saved) defensive showing over 212 1/3 innings at the position this season.  Niko Goodrum delivered much better glovework when playing shortstop, so the Tigers could opt to try Castro out at second or third base in 2021.  Conversely, Castro could get a longer look at shortstop to see if his defense can improve with more seasoning, and the Tigers could move Goodrum back into his old superutility role.

Tigers Place C.J. Cron On Injured List

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The Tigers have placed first baseman C.J. Cron on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. Infielder Willi Castro was recalled to take the open roster spot.

The organization says that Cron has been diagnosed with a left knee sprain. It remains to be seen if there’s any greater damage to the joint.

Cron left last night’s game after attempting to field a liner. The 30-year-old left the field gingerly. Hopefully he has avoided significant damage.

The Tigers find themselves in competitive position a couple weeks into the season, thanks in no small part to contributions from their new first bagger. Cron has turned in a .190/.346/.548 batting line in 52 plate appearances. Despite the sub-Mendoza batting average, that’s good for a 146 wRC+.

Central Notes: Lindor, Tigers, Cards, Pirates

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We may be in for weeks of speculation centering on Indians superstar shortstop Francisco Lindor, who’s a potential trade candidate because he’s running out of team control and unlikely to sign an extension. For instance, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com runs down reasons to trade Lindor now that he’s down to his second-last year of arbitration eligibility, while Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com names potential in-house replacements for the long haul should the Indians deal the 26-year-old. The team is indeed “receiving a lot of trade calls” for Lindor, Jon Heyman of MLB.com tweets. As you’d expect, though, the Indians’ public stance is that Lindor is likely to stay put. “My expectation is Frankie will be the shortstop Opening Day next year,” president Chris Antonetti said.

Here’s more from the game’s Central divisions…

  • Tigers general manager Al Avila said this week that a “bat” – likely either an outfielder or a first baseman – as well as a backup catcher are on his shopping list, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com relays. It doesn’t seem that the Tigers will be adding a shortstop from outside, though. Rather, it looks as if utilityman Niko Goodrum is the favorite to land the job. Avila’s of the belief that young shortstop Willi Castro and catcher Jake Rogers, who made their major league debuts in 2019, need more seasoning at the Triple-A level.
  • Various injuries have prevented 25-year-old Cardinals right-hander Alex Reyes from realizing his vast potential, but it appears he’ll enjoy “a normal offseason progression” this winter, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Reyes, once among the game’s elite prospects, had an outstanding debut over 46 innings in 2016. He then missed all of 2017 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, threw 27 innings in 2018 (four in the majors) as a result of surgery to repair a tendon in his lat muscle and totaled just 40 1/3 frames this year (three at the MLB level) because of multiple health issues – including a strained pectoral.
  • Pirates infielder Erik Gonzalez underwent left foot surgery Wednesday and won’t resume baseball activities for 10 to 12 weeks, Adam Berry of MLB.com tweets. It’s the second time Gonzalez has undergone surgery as a Pirate. The offseason acquisition from last winter underwent a procedure in April to repair a fractured left clavicle, which was one of multiple injuries that helped sideline him for the majority of the 2019 campaign. The 28-year-old posted woeful production over the 156 plate appearances he amassed, as he hit .254/.301/.317 with only one home run. He’s projected to earn $800K via arbitration in 2020.
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