The Minnesota Twins Most Unlikely All-Star

[Cody Christie]

Willi Castro’s path from minor league signee to this point has been full of obstacles. On Thursday, he found out that he was a first-time All-Star.

Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Willi Castro had multiple minor league offers entering the 2023 season, but the Twins made it known that they wanted him in their organization. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli personally called Castro to express the team’s interest in Castro and what he could mean to the organization. Castro liked what he heard from the manager and was familiar with the Twins from his time in Detroit. He signed with Minnesota, and the rest is history. 

On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced that Castro would replace Jose Altuve on the AL All-Star roster. He will serve as the backup second baseman behind Marcus Semien. His defensive utility will likely come into play for the AL squad, as managers typically try to get every player in the game. Castro can be moved around the diamond as new players enter the game. He joins Carlos Correa as the 2024 Twins All-Star representatives. 

Earlier this month, I named Castro as the team’s first-half MVP. He has stood out above the crowd on a team with multiple former All-Stars and multi-million dollar players. Baseball Reference and FanGraphs rank him second on the team in WAR, behind Correa. His value has multiple layers because of his defensive flexibility. He joined a small club of players who have amassed 20 or more games in left field, center field, third base, and shortstop in the same season. His 121 OPS+ is 15 points higher than last season, and he’s already compiled a career-high in WAR. Castro has impacted the Twins in every facet of the game. 

“He’s the real MVP of this team,” Correa told reporters last month. “He plays everywhere. If somebody gets hurt, he replaces them with no problem. If you ask him to play second, he plays great defense at second base. If you ask him to play shortstop, left, center, it doesn’t matter. He plays everywhere. When you have a guy like that, he makes you so much better as a team. I think we should appreciate him way more than we do already. He’s a real great player.”

Castro began his professional career in the Guardians organization before trading him to the Tigers while in the low minors. Detroit initially rushed him to the big leagues as a 22-year-old, causing him to struggle. In parts of four seasons, he hit .245/.292/.381 (.673) with an 87 OPS+. Based on this performance, the Tigers dropped him from their 40-man roster, making him a free agent. 

Last season, Castro wasn’t guaranteed to make the Opening Day roster since the Twins had multiple players ahead of him on the organizational depth chart. However, injuries to other vital players opened a spot on the roster, and his spring performance was hard to ignore. Tom Froemming named him the 2023 Sire of Fort Myers, and the Twins quickly realized how valuable Castro was to the club.

His versatility has been crucial to everything the Twins do on both sides of the ball. Since the start of last season, Correa is the only Twins player with more fWAR than Castro. His defensive utility has seen him be a replacement on the field for the team’s biggest names, including Royce Lewis, Byron Buxton, and Correa. He also allows Twins manager Rocco Baldelli to have more flexibility when creating his lineups because he can worry less about defensive positions when Castro can play so many different spots. 

Castro is relatively unknown on the national stage, but now he will have the opportunity to showcase his versatility while being recognized among the game’s best players. When the Twins signed him, it was hard to imagine Castro reaching this level of performance. Now, he can call himself an All-Star for the rest of his life. Congrats to Castro and his family!

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[MABB1959]

Happy for him!

[Doctor Wu]

Just heard the news. Cool stuff. Congratulations to Castro on a well-deserved honor!

[dxpavelka]

Good teams are historically strong up the middle.  All-Star SS & 2B.  Rejuvenated CF.  C who performed at or near an All-Star level for the first two months of the season.  Only seems to be one missing puzzle piece.......

[nclahammer]

So well deserved, congratulations to Willi Castro!  IMHO he was our team MVP last season and he's picked up right where he left off.

[Jeff K]

So cool for Willi Castro.  And a very nice article!

[IndianaTwin]

1. Twins Talk Tweet: Castro “worked effortlessly.” Where can I get a job like that? 

2. Does Falvey/Levine/Baldelli get any credit for finding a diamond in the rough? 

[Karbo]

It's amazing to me how a guy was cut from a poor team, expected to play in AAA, gets his chance due to injuries, and in a year and half gets picked for the all star team! Sounds like a Hollywood script. The Twins would be lost w/o him.

[Doctor Gast]

I've been waiting a few hrs. for TD to post this. IMO Castro is a story of a young player who was rushed ^& sputtered & DET gave up on him. A friend of Baldelli recommended Castro to him, on a whim he called him. I'm sure Baldelli is happy that he did. Twins are fortunate that he did & that there were injuries to open the door after spring training, Castro played great in spring training but Twins don't look at ST performances & Castro would have been doomed to rot in AAA. But with the Twins, Castro has taken every opportunity & has run with them.

In the beginning of this season we lost our big 3 and the result could have been very disastrous, putting us in a tailspin & in a hole that would have been hard to get out of, But Castro was our anchor in this storm to minimize the damage & left us in a situation in which we could recover. Not only has he held down very demanding positions admirably, he has also produced offensively. I greatly value his versatility at prime positions, with his switch-hitting means you can get his bat & glove in the game filling any hole & adding quality depth at many positions. No wonder he leads the team in WAR & games played.

I had no doubt that Castro could help the Twins from the beginning but he has greatly surpassed my expectations. I'm very happy that he got the all-star nod that I had hoped for & deserved. Congratulations! & wish him & Correa well & that they'd make the Twins proud.

[Brandon]

So did Castro play 3B, SS, LF, CF, and 2B with 20 games each this year or last year?  We are at game 93 so how did he play 20 games at 5 positions?

He is still a deserving all star.

He also pitched in 2 games as well. 

Does Detroit feel stupid for letting him leave.  Kindof like we do with David Ortiz?

Castro is an allstar after Altuve had to bow out after getting a HBP playing against the Twins.......

[Dman]

32 minutes ago, Karbo said:

It's amazing to me how a guy was cut from a poor team, expected to play in AAA, gets his chance due to injuries, and in a year and half gets picked for the all star team! Sounds like a Hollywood script. The Twins would be lost w/o him.

I agree.  At the time I thought it was a wasted signing.  His bat had been pretty bad for a while and with Polanco and Gordon and Jullien and MIranda etc. I didn't even see a sliver of chance for him to even get a shot.

Crazy how things work out.  Sometimes getting cut is a huge wakeup call to double down on working hard with new found desperation to make it. Sometimes another team has different voices or different approaches and it changes everything. Whatever the case he has been an important\invaluable part of this team last year and this year.

I wish I could say I was a believer from the beginning, but I was a doubter.  Congrats to Castro on working hard to overcome his weaknesses and for believing in himself when others had given up on him.  A well deserved All Star IMO.

[stringer bell]

I recall a game during the COVID year when the Twins were playing the Tigers. The Tigers started a utility guy at third base and he was brutal--a couple of rollers for infield hits, a throw to the wrong base and a booted grounder--I'm pretty sure it was Willi Castro. 

Willi has worked hard (not effortlessly) to become decent to good at five defensive positions. He showed outstanding results on the base paths last season and this year has hit well enough to become a regular player although he doesn't really have a single position to call his own. It's a great story and Willi's skill set works perfectly with a manager like Baldelli, who uses his bench and doesn't overwork his regular players.

[Patzky]

Every time I watch this video I feel like I'm Willi, and about to be told I've been traded to the Marlins.

[MN_ExPat]

39 minutes ago, Brandon said:

So did Castro play 3B, SS, LF, CF, and 2B with 20 games each this year or last year?  We are at game 93 so how did he play 20 games at 5 positions?

I believe he has played at least 20 games at each position, not necessarily started at each.  Example he may start at 2B, then move over to 3B later in the same game, etc.

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

1 hour ago, dxpavelka said:

Good teams are historically strong up the middle.  All-Star SS & 2B.  Rejuvenated CF.  C who performed at or near an All-Star level for the first two months of the season.  Only seems to be one missing puzzle piece.......

With Willi you could maybe even say this team has 2 All-Star SS, a 2B, 3B, LF and CF!

[Road trip]

Castro is a strong candidate for the best free agent signing for the Twins in recent history, especially if measured in terms of return on (a very small) investment.

[CCHOF5yearstoolate]

49 minutes ago, Brandon said:

So did Castro play 3B, SS, LF, CF, and 2B with 20 games each this year or last year?  We are at game 93 so how did he play 20 games at 5 positions?

Just appearances, he gets shifted around for pinch hitters/defensive replacements enough. 

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

So did Castro play 3B, SS, LF, CF, and 2B with 20 games each this year or last year?  We are at game 93 so how did he play 20 games at 5 positions?

He is still a deserving all star.

He also pitched in 2 games as well. 

Does Detroit feel stupid for letting him leave.  Kindof like we do with David Ortiz?

Castro is an allstar after Altuve had to bow out after getting a HBP playing against the Twins.......

Some games he played more than one spot this year….not just starts at those positions.

Simien is starting and there are only 2 guys at 2B and plenty of other guys for other positions so I don’t see him playing multiple positions in the All-star game.

Could be cool to see Correa & Castro up the middle for A.L. late in the game!

[Trov]

Castro is the type of player the Twins love to have.  He can play many positions, hits from both sides, and has speed, not super speed but is not slow.  I agree he very well may be our MVP because he has played all over, and allows Rocco to move other guys around because Castro can fill the holes left. Good for him making all star team. 

[Brandon]

1 hour ago, Road trip said:

Castro is a strong candidate for the best free agent signing for the Twins in recent history, especially if measured in terms of return on (a very small) investment.

Nelson Cruz says hi

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Some games he played more than one spot this year….not just starts at those positions.

Simien is starting and there are only 2 guys at 2B and plenty of other guys for other positions so I don’t see him playing multiple positions in the All-star game.

Could be cool to see Correa & Castro up the middle for A.L. late in the game!

The only way I'd see him playing multiple positions is if they want to have fun and let him play all five. I doubt that has happened before. As you note, there's only one other 2B on the roster, however, so it's doubtful they would do that.  

Pete Rose played five different positions in ASGs (1B, 2B, 3B, LF, RF), but not in a single game.

[Road trip]

9 minutes ago, Brandon said:

Nelson Cruz says hi

Cruz was great, but it was $39 million for 3 years, where he produced 8.4 WAR (a stat that in this case perhaps doesn't measure his total worth to the Twins organization, as he clearly had a mentoring role for some other young players).  Add in that the Twins flipped him in a trade for Ryan, and yes, to be certain it was a great signing.

Castro has thus far cost a measly $5.1 million for 2 years, and has accumulated a coincidentally matched 5.1 WAR so far through 1.5 years of play.  From an ROI standpoint, this was an even better signing.

[IndianaTwin]

1 hour ago, CCHOF5yearstoolate said:

Just appearances, he gets shifted around for pinch hitters/defensive replacements enough. 

I could see him getting two at SS and four in CF, but with Lee, Lewis and Miranda, I doubt he'll get 10 more at 3B. 

[mikelink45]

Great pick - I love the way he plays - the term sparkplug comes to mind!

[Teflon]

"Signed a minor league deal in 2022 with MN and has worked effortlessly to become an All-Star."

Seems like a very zen approach. Somehow, I don't think that's what Twins Talk meant to write.  

[MN_ExPat]

3 hours ago, IndianaTwin said:

I could see him getting two at SS and four in CF, but with Lee, Lewis and Miranda, I doubt he'll get 10 more at 3B. 

It was games played, not started.  Even so, given that there is still a lot a ball left to be played, games started isn't out of the realm of possibilities either. 🤷‍♂️🙂

[IndianaTwin]

24 minutes ago, MN_ExPat said:

It was games played, not started.  Even so, given that there is still a lot a ball left to be played, games started isn't out of the realm of possibilities either. 🤷‍♂️🙂

Yeah, I wasn't explicit in noting that I was referring to the possibility of having 20 starts at each position. I think four positions is realistic by covering a few off days for Buxton and Correa, but it will be hard to reach 20 at 3B with all the other options there. His last start there was May 16, and he still needs 10. 

Said another way, I hope he doesn't get another 10 starts at 3B, because that means something's happened to at least two of Miranda, Lee and Lewis.  

[IndianaTwin]

Interestingly (at least I think it's interesting)...

Baseball-reference.com lists a team's stats by position, using the number of games someone has played AT THE POSITION. Even if Castro becomes the full-time 2B for a time and continues to play every game, it will be well into August before he shows up in the starter section. 

That's the epitome of a utility guy, leading the team in plate appearances, with 12 percent more than the next guy, and still not being listed in the top group.  

 

[IndianaTwin]

4 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

Interestingly (at least I think it's interesting)...

Baseball-reference.com lists a team's stats by position, using the number of games someone has played AT THE POSITION....

 

That's why Vazquez is listed as the starting catcher, even though Jeffers has more than 50 percent more plate appearances. So many of Jeffers's plate appearances came as a DH. You may have heard somewhere, perhaps even in a post or two* on Twins Daily, that Vazquez starts a lot of games.

*Or 12,000 or so.  

[2wins87]

6 hours ago, Dman said:

I wish I could say I was a believer from the beginning, but I was a doubter.  Congrats to Castro on working hard to overcome his weaknesses and for believing in himself when others had given up on him.  A well deserved All Star IMO.

Same. His bat was average to slightly below average for much of the first half of last year and I was skeptical.

It's only gotten better and more consistent since. He's really been impressive, and now I'm a Willi-stan too.