Last week amidst a flurry of Winter Meetings rumors, ESPN’s Jorge Castillo reported this:
The Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies are among the teams interested in signing utility man Willi Castro, sources told ESPN. Castro, 28, was an All-Star in 2024 after a strong first half with the Minnesota Twins, but he regressed through the second half and into the 2025 season.
The switch-hitter slashed .245/.335/.407 with the Twins in 2025 before he was sent to the Chicago Cubs at the trade
deadline. He struggled in Chicago, batting just .170 with one home run and a .485 OPS in 35 games and did not have a plate appearance in the postseason.
Advanced metrics indicate Castro also regressed defensively in 2025, dropping from zero to minus-9 out above average, but he’s a versatile defender who played second base, third base, shortstop, and all three outfield spots.
According to Colorado Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta, the Rockies met with some agents, so Castillo’s reporting may provide some insight into the DePodesta’s plan for building the 2026 Rockies roster.
In terms of salary, MLB Trade Rumors predicts Castro will sign get a two-year, $14 million contract.
Signing Castro presents an intriguing possibility and one worth gaming out.
Can you start with some background?
Absolutely.
A native of Puerto Rico, Castro signed with Cleveland in 2013 as an international free agent and went on to make his Arizona League debut the following year. He worked his way through Cleveland’s minor-league system until being traded to the Detroit Tigers in July 2018. The next year, he made his MLB debut against the Minnesota Twins on August 24, 2019.
Although Castro began his professional career as a shortstop, the Tigers started moving him to second base. He struggled a bit and spent much of his time shuttling between the Tigers and Triple-A Toledo. At the end of the 2022 season, he was non-tendered.
In December of that year, Castro signed with the Twins and went on to make their Opening Day roster. Castro was effective to the point that he was named an 2024 All-Star.
He remained with the Twins at the start of the 2025 season. Then on July 31, in the midst of an MLB fire sale consuming Target Field, Castro was traded to the Chicago Cubs. He was having an uneven season, good in the first half but not the second — as in a 122 OPS+ for the first half of the season compared to a 36 OPS+ in the second-half.
He was not added to the Cubs’ postseason roster. When the season ended, he moved into free agency.
Here are his final numbers: During his four seasons with the Tigers, Castro was worth -0.1 rWAR; with the Twins, that number was 4.5 rWAR; and then with the Cubs, he fell to -0.5 rWAR.
Why might the Rockies be interested?
There are a few reasons.
First, Castro is truly a utility player. (I can already hear all the Orlando Arcia comments, and just hear me out.)
According to FanGraphs, he has played every defensive position except catcher and first base, though he’s spent the most time at SS, 2B, and 3B. (FWIW, he’s a below-average defender.) DePodesta’s comment suggest the Rockies are also in the market for a free-agent 1B. Castro is versatile, but first base is not a significant part of his portfolio, so he would not address that issue.
Second, he would bring experience for a very young team. The 2025 Rockies finished the season as the youngest team in MLB, and they will still be young in 2026. They are going to need some veteran insight.
Start by considering the infield — because the Rockies probably would rarely use Castro in the outfield given their depth at that position. Currently, the Rockies look to have the following infield:
- 1B: A yet-to-be-named first baseman
- 2B: Ryan Ritter (25) and/or Adael Amador (22)
- 3B: Kyle Karros (23)
- SS: Ezequiel Tovar (24)
All of these players are relatively young, and only Tovar has significant MLB experience. Given the injuries Tovar suffered through in 2025, it makes sense that the Rockies will probably look to give him a few more days off during the course of the season.
Castro would be able to substitute throughout the infield and mentor young players — the Rockies will need both in 2026.
Third, there’s the fact that Castro is a switch hitter. His splits indicate that he’s good from either side of the plate, which would give the Rockies additional versatility.
Given where the Rockies are in their rebuild, which is to say trying to balance player development at the MLB level with fielding an improved team, signing a player like Willi Castro makes sense. Look, the 2026 Rockies are not going to be good, but for lots of reasons, they need to be better than they have been.
Bringing in a player like Castro might help.
Can you tell us something interesting?
How about this:
You can impress your friends the next time you play trivia.
Is this happening?
Maybe. We just don’t know enough about what president of DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes have in mind, but there are two open spots on the Rockies’ roster.
It appears DePodesta is first focused on building out the front office staff before turning his attention to the Rockies’ 2026 roster.
Still, stay tuned.
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