Let’s talk about Willi Castro

Earlier in this week’s Winter Meetings, Jorge Castillo reported the following rumor:

President of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said the Rockies had met with some agents, and perhaps the began conversations about bringing Willi Castro to Denver.

MLB Trade Rumors predicts he will get a two-year, $14 million contract.

It’s an intriguing possibility. Why might the Colorado Rockies be interested in Willi Castro?

Can you start with some background?

I can do that.

The 28 year old is a native of Puerto Rico. In 2013, he signed with Cleveland as an international free agent and made his Arizona League debut in 2014. Castro worked his way through Cleveland’s minor-league system until being traded to the Detroit Tigers in July 2018. On August 24, 2019, he made his MLB debut against the Minnesota Twins.

Although he started as a shortstop, the Tigers started moving him to second base, and he spent much of his time shuttling between the Tigers and Triple-A Toledo. Following the 2022 season, Castro was non-tendered.

In December of that year, he signed with the Twins and made their Opening Day roster. Castro was effective and named an All-Star in 2024.

On July 31, 2025, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs in the midst of what would be an uneven season. (He was good in the first half but not the second.)

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.

One more thing: He’s a switch hitter.

Why would the Rockies be interested?

There are a couple of reasons.

First, Castro is truly a utility player. 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.) We know that the Rockies are looking to the free-agent market for a possible first baseman (and I wrote about that earlier this week). Castro is versatile, but first base is not a significant part of his portfolio. However, any other position, save catcher, he’s spent time at.

Second, he would provide 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.

Consider the infield — because the Rockies probably would rarely use Castro in the outfield given their depth at that position. Right now, the Rockies look to have an infield of a free-agent first baseman, Ryan Ritter and/or Adael Amador (2B), Ezequiel Tovar (SS), and Kyle Karros (3B). All of these players are very 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.

Castro would be able to substitute throughout the infield and mentor young players — and the Rockies will need that in 2026. Thinking specifically of Karros and Ritter, both players were absolutely gassed when the season ended. Manager Warren Schaeffer commented late in the season that both had been instructed to “hit the weight room” during the offseason. Yes, they will do that, but having a player like Castro would give the Rockies another layer of support.

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 even more versatility. (If they were to sign both Castro and Josh Bell, they would have two switch hitters and more flexibility in terms of platooning.)

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.

And if he re-establishes his value in the early part of the season, the Rockies might be able to move him at the trade deadline.

Can you tell us something interesting?

Sure. He’s married to Aniana Rosario, a sister of Amed Rosario.

Is this happening?

Maybe. We just don’t know enough about what president of DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes have in mind. We just know there are two open spots on the Rockies’ roster, and DePodesta said they were talking with agents.

There’s one other thing I have had time to work through yet.

I’m interested in the intersections between DePodesta and the staff he’s put together because some of these key hires seem to be folks he’s worked with (or Byrnes has worked with) before. Two members of the pitching staff, Matt Daniels and Gabe Ribas, have ties to the Twins and Tigers, respectively. DePodesta is, I am confident, looking to them for player evaluations as he begins to build the 2026 team.

If they were to sign Castro and Bell at, let’s say $13 million total (though I don’t think Castro will get the contract MLB Trade Rumors projects), that might be doable.

Probably, though, we should look to more coaching announcements next.

Closing thoughts

Here’s a piece that ran on MLB Trade Rumors on Wednesday about interest in Brenton Doyle. The Mets, Phillies, Padres, and Yankees are all possible trade partners.

Doyle has, I think, played his last game in purple pinstripes. He’s the main element of a trade that could bring the Rockies back a controllable starter for the rotation.

It’s going to be an exciting offseason.

As always, thanks for reading —

Renee

Rockies Pitch is a newsletter that focuses on Colorado Rockies baseball.

Find me on Bluesky at @ReneeDechert.com or send an email to Renee@RockiesPitch.com