According to Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com, the O’s top target at catcher right now is 29-year-old Welington Castillo. Castillo’s spent the majority of his seven year career with the Cubs, before making a short stop in Seattle, and then spending the last year and a half with the D’Backs. The backstop, who’s a year younger than Matt Wieters, was a surprising addition to free agency, after being non-tendered by Arizona.
The O’s are believed to be in deep talks with Castillo, and O’s fans shouldn’t be disappointed. Castillo could promise to be a legitimate replacement for Matt Wieters with his bat, boasting a .255 career batting average, and 33 home runs over the last two seasons. While he’d be a significant downgrade defensively, the O’s still have Caleb Joseph, who will likely see a decent share of playing time in 2017, and is an outstanding defensive backstop. On top of that, there’s reason to believe the righty could hit more home runs in Baltimore, like most free agent signings of the past have, due to OPACY’s short dimensions in comparison to those of Arizona or Chicago.
Castillo, who has an almost identical career batting average to Matt Wieters, hit 21 points higher than Wieters last season (.264 to .243), and ranked in the top 10 of the MLB’s catchers in both homeruns and doubles. While he’s not a top tier, household name, Castillo’s a solid Major League catcher. If, or when, the O’s reach a deal with the seven-year veteran, O’s fans should be excited about the potential his addition brings to an already loaded Orioles lineup.
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