Per Jon Heyman, the Orioles and free-agent catcher Wellington Castillo have agreed on a deal.
Sources: welington Castillo has deal with orioles
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 14, 2016
Castillo gets 1-year deal, plus 2nd year player option with orioles.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 14, 2016
Castillo gets 6M in '17, option is for 7M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 14, 2016
ESR staff react to the signing below:
Derek Arnold
Castillo was a 4.5 bWAR player back in 2013 with the Cubs, his best season. That was in 113 games; coincidentally, he also played in 113 games in 2016, when his bWAR was 2.4. To compare, Matt Wieters‘ best bWAR season was 4.9 in 2011, when he played in 139 games. Last year, he was at 1.7 in 124. Castillo has some pop and could hit 20 homers playing at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He also mashes lefties (.868 OPS vs. LHP in ’16, .840 career), which certainly helps the O’s, whose struggles to hit southpaws are well-documented.
This certainly closes the door on any “Wieters might be back” talks, which is sure to tug at the heartstrings of Birdland a bit.
In a purely baseball sense though? This is at worst a lateral move at the position, and quite possibly an upgrade. It also quells any fears that the team would try to rush Chance Sisco along much too quickly.
Joe Polek
A career .255 hitter that averages double-digit home runs when he plays a full season should be just fine for a powerful Baltimore lineup. It is a little less than what Matt Wieters might have provided but for a lot less money.
It is a move the Orioles had to make and it is not a bad one at all. Now they need to solidify the RF/DH position.
Phil Backert
This is the perfect stopgap until Chance Sisco is ready, which is hopefully sooner than later. Castillo’s bat will play well in the American League East and he has has also proven to be able to throw runners out. It’s concerning that he allowed 10 passed balls last year which is something the team will need to stress as it has been a problem throughout his career. Castillo has allowed at least seven passed balls four times in his career. On the flip side, Wieters never allowed more than five.
In the end, the Orioles wanted to go cheap at catcher and not commit long-term to anyone and Castillo checked all those boxes. The veteran should provide pop in the bottom half of the order and could be a nice trade piece if Sisco does prove he is ready by the start of the summer.
Joe Serpico
There was optimism that Matt Wieters might come back, but the O’s have decided to add “Beef” to the club to make up for the (pending) loss of the switch-hitting catcher to free agency. It looks as though he will platoon with Caleb Joseph until Chance Sisco is deemed ready.
Looking back at last year’s numbers, Welington posted a better average and RBI total than Wieters, while also commanding half the salary this offseason. While we will miss Matt in Baltimore, his asking price was not matching the production.
Ryan Blake
The best part of the news that the Orioles signed Welington Castillo is the fact that they got him on a one-year deal. This will allow the organization to continue developing Chance Sisco, whose bat appears just about ready but who needs some more work behind the plate.
My biggest complaints with Castillo would be his lack of pitch-framing ability and the abnormally high .337 BABIP he posted in 2016. I think he will regress a bit at the plate but he is still a far better option than giving Caleb Joseph a hundred starts.
I’ll surely miss Matt Wieters, as will most of us, but all good things must come to an end. We survived the departures of Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis and we’ll have to do it again. The reality of Wieters’ time in Baltimore is that, although he was certainly an above-average catcher in this league, his arrival was extremely overhyped and it gave us expectations that proved to be far too high.
I guess it’s time to shift our attention from applying the “I before E” rule to learning that Welington is spelled with just one L, though the first letter of his name is far more important.
Josh Sroka
The news was a surprise to me after the weekend rumors. I was sure we were set for a Nick Hundey return. So compared to that, I like it. It’s another power bat as the Orioles continue to try and win with the long ball. His pitch framing and defense is second behind his bat and I find that slightly concerning. The biggest surprise is the player option for year 2, but I guess that’s a good back up plan if Jesus-in-Cleats 2, Chance Sisco is not ready for the big leagues. If Chance is ready, the Orioles should be able to get some trade value from Castillo this July.
Jonathan French
Castillo fills the regular catcher role offensively for the Orioles but his framing skills were only slightly better than Wieters’ in 2016 and worse in 2015 and 2014 according to Statcorner. I would have preferred the team with Joseph (one of the better framers in MLB) as the regular catcher, getting a backup catcher with good framing skills and focusing on making up the offense elsewhere. However the deal seems reasonable and gives the necessary bridge to Chance Sisco. Castillo’s offense is also likely to be an upgrade over Wieters’.
I only hope that John Russell can help Castillo with his framing skills. With the mediocre starting pitching the Orioles are sure to have, they need all the help behind the plate that they can get.
Stephen Adams
A cheap catcher with little risk due to contract length. Has a strong arm, but poor pitch framing skills. Solid offensive player.
Castillo will give the O’s some payroll flexibility while at least shoring up the C position in 2017 all the while seeing how Chance Sisco progresses.
