Twins Trade Candidate Breakdown: Willi Castro

[Lou Hennessy]

Few players were more responsible for the team’s first-half success this year, but the surprising All-Star's decline in the back end of the 2024 campaign was an integral part of an epic collapse. Does this “guy who can play anywhere” have a place with next year’s Twins team?

What’s Up With Willi Castro
The Twins signed Willi Castro to a minor-league deal with an invite to spring training in 2023, and he’s rewarded them with near-everyday play: 282 games of above-average production in the last two seasons. He has 5.6 fWAR in those two seasons, more than every Twins hitter except for Carlos Correa. When you take into account his $1.8-million salary in 2023 and just a $3.3 million payday in his All-Star 2024 campaign, it’s an easy call to suggest he’s been this front office’s best acquisition from a pound-for-pound value standpoint.

But heading into his final year of arbitration control, Castro is expected to reel in somewhere in the neighborhood of $6.2 million (as projected by MLB Trade Rumors). If he’s the player we saw in the first half of last season, that’s an easy call to pencil him into the 2025 blueprint. But his rotten second half (wherein he hit .219/.298/.329, good for an 82 wRC+) makes it a riskier decision, especially given the logjam of position players in the organization who are either already established in the major leagues or knocking on the door for a promotion. 

The Case for Trading Willi Castro 
That leads to some of the indications that the Twins could be behooved to ship Castro to another organization, while his market value is still relatively positive. Not only could the Twins get salary relief from replacing his projected salary with someone making the league minimum (such as Brooks Lee), but they might even get a modest return. Would the Twins get a blue-chip prospect for one year of control over Castro? Surely not, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they could get something intriguing for someone who plays multiple positions (more on that later) and was an All Star just last year. 
If the Twins are confident in some of their younger pieces stepping up to fill Catro’s shoes, now could be a good time to dive headfirst into that long-term plan. Lee could fill any of the infield positions that Castro was entrusted with over the last couple years, and Austin Martin (or even an outside addition at a more palatable salary) could theoretically handle his duties in the outfield.

Inquiring teams could be interested in Castro as an everyday utility player, as he’s been with the Twins so far, or they could even try to plant him at a defensive home if they have a specific need. The versatile utility player started at least 20 games in left field, center field, and at each infield position aside from first base. While he didn't raise any eyebrows at any one position, he mostly held his own at each station.

Castro likely wouldn’t require an exorbitant return package, especially if the acquiring team eats that salary. If the Twins can find a way to shed the roughly $6 million Castro will make (likely in addition to another move to shed salary owed to someone like Christian Vázquez or Chris Paddack), they may have just enough wiggle room to make a move for one of their areas of need. It would be placing a lot of trust in less-seasoned young players, but it could be for the best given the circumstances. 

Comparable Trades of the Past
There have been a couple trades in recent years that run along parallel lines to this sort of move. The Twins traded Gio Urshela to the Los Angeles Angels after tendering him a contract for his final year of arbitration in the offseason before the 2023 campaign. Like Castro, Urshela could be entrusted with multiple positions (though not nearly as many as Castro), and was set to earn roughly $8 million. Instead, the Twins sent him to Anaheim for Alejandro Hidalgo, who was a 19-year-old at High-A at the time, as well as the ever-important salary relief.

That same day, the Twins found themselves on the opposite side of that coin when they traded for Kyle Farmer, who was seen as a capable stopgap at shortstop if needed, or ideally as a bench option who could play elsewhere around the diamond. They gave up Casey Legumina, who was a fringe top-30 organizational prospect at the time. While these moves were made concurrently, they each represent decent comparisons for what to expect in a potential Castro deal given his positional flexibility and the salary that would be exchanged. 

Potential Trade Partners
Due to a dearth of options at a few positions in the free agent market, Castro could be an enticing option for teams with more room to spend and a specific hole to try and fill. He provides offensive upside from both sides of the plate (especially as a righty) and has been a threat on the bases as recently as 2023. Keep these teams in mind as we look for a club that could be interested in Castro for his contract year.

Boston Red Sox
Like the Twins, the Red Sox couldn’t find their footing in the second half and should be looking to rebound in 2025. But unlike the Twins, the Sox have ample spending room, as they are about $50 million short of last year’s payroll, with no indication that they’ve been directed to scale back. Castro likely wouldn’t be their priority this winter, but he would be an improvement over internal candidates such as infielders David Hamilton and Nick Sogard. 

Could the Twins try to flip Castro along with former Sox-fan favorite Vázquez in a bigger deal that provides considerable payroll relief?

Toronto Blue Jays
Another AL East team that found themselves in a disappointing place at the end of the season is our friends north of the border in Toronto. It’s a pivotal year for the club, as their two superstar position players, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are both entering their contract years. If they want to make some noise as a contending team, they’ll want an improvement over their projected starters at third base (Ernie Clement) and in left field (Nathan Lukes).

Maybe the Twins could try to get an enticing (albeit flawed) relief option in return, such as Dillon Tate (4.66 ERA in 2024, two years of club control remaining) or Brendon Little (4.27 ERA across 46 ⅓ MLB innings over the last two years, making minimum salary). 

Houston Astros
The AL West powerhouse is likely to be quite active this winter, as they have significant holes at third base (assuming they don’t re-sign superstar Alex Bregman), and in the outfield aside from Kyle Tucker. They are also set to have roughly $30 million to play with just to get to their 2024 payroll level. Castro could give them a starting-caliber option at each of these positions, or could be a lethal platoon and pinch-running option for a slowish, top-heavy offense. 

Could the Twins ask about former global top prospect Forrest Whitley, who is now a 27-year-old that has battled injuries for the last four years? Would Minnesota have to throw in another kicker in addition to Castro to get it across the finish line?

New York Yankees
The reigning AL champions are set to lose both Juan Soto and Gleyber Torres to free agency, and while they will certainly try to keep the former in the fold, the Yankees could eye Castro as a suitable (if partial) replacement for the latter. Castro would provide them with some much-needed speed and defensive versatility, which could entice the bombers if they wish to keep Giancarlo Stanton as a permanent designated hitter or move Aaron Judge out of center field. 

With the Soto sweepstakes likely to drag on for a while, Castro’s fit with the Yankees might not become clear until later in the winter, but it’s always smart to expect the big-pocketed clubs to bring in more than they need on the surface. 

Conclusions
A trade of Castro probably comes down to two factors: how much salary could the club shed in such a move, and how confident are the Twins in his potential replacements? There’s plenty to balance as the team makes their deliberations, but either way, Castro has been an incredible value since signing that minor-league deal. Can the Twins squeeze just a little more value out of him?

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What do you think? Should the Twins try to move Willi Castro this offseason? How confident are you in the club being able to replicate his production in 2025? Let us know in the comments, and as always, keep it sweet. 

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[Blyleven2011]

Finally a reasonable trade to examine  ...

Castro's salary already has opened the door to a trade , good player and very versatile  , many teams should be interested in him and the return might be better than you think if alot of teams covet Castro  ...

I'd definitely trade him and I wouldn't miss him , we should have internal options to replace him , maybe not as much versatility  but a replacement  none the less ( let the prospects have a chance  , they keep getting older the longer there in the minors )...

Trade a player that has high value  and doesn't fit into our long term future  ...

[old nurse]

Castro is a one year rental in a contract year. The return is not going to look like much 2-3 prospects that the other team doesn’t think will ever be a starter, or a starting pitcher.  The return depends on how much better the Twins’ scouting department is than the trade partner. 

[Reptevia]

Couldn’t they just not tender him and save all his salary?

[Cory Engelhardt]

Let’s say the plan is to try Jax in the rotation, and maybe even start the year with a 6 man rotation. 
 

If that is the case, I’d imagine Castro could bring back a decent reliever at minimum

[Doctor Gast]

Castro could be our full-time LFer & improve our WAR there, but the fact that he can fill in at RF, 3B, 2B, CF or SS does not make him less valuable, it makes him much more valuable. especially throw in that he switch-hits make him even more valuable. Castro was key to our success in '23 & was our MVP this last season. The thing is that he's not a full-time SS, & his extended time there wore him down. Castro is irreplaceable, we don't have a single person in our organization that can do what he does & w/o him IMO we not achieved what we did in '23 & wouldn't ever be in consideration for the postseason in '24. Instead of wasting our money on outside players, we should use that money to extend him. He one I consider core & should not be traded. We'd never get what he's worth to us.

[stringer bell]

Castro has value much greater than $6+M, so IMHO he should be tendered a contract.

As to trading him, is he worth as much or more to the Twins than he would be to another team? I don’t see many teams where his versatility plays as well as it does for the Twins, so I don’t think he should be traded. 

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Reptevia said:

Couldn’t they just not tender him and save all his salary?

They save all his salary by trading him as well, plus the Twins get a return. There is no question a team would happily take the $6MM of Castro's Arb3 salary while also shipping a significant prospect (org 5ish) back to the Twins. 

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

Castro could be our full-time LFer & improve our WAR there, but the fact that he can fill in at RF, 3B, 2B, CF or SS does not make him less valuable, it makes him much more valuable. especially throw in that he switch-hits make him even more valuable. Castro was key to our success in '23 & was our MVP this last season. The thing is that he's not a full-time SS, & his extended time there wore him down. Castro is irreplaceable, we don't have a single person in our organization that can do what he does & w/o him IMO we not achieved what we did in '23 & wouldn't ever be in consideration for the postseason in '24. Instead of wasting our money on outside players, we should use that money to extend him. He one I consider core & should not be traded. We'd never get what he's worth to us.

Castro is a starting caliber player who is going to be playing every day, but he can only play one position at a time. There is a "best" position for him, and everywhere the Twins place him other than the best position reduces Castro's contributions.

There's a questionable narrative that Castro's positional flexibility is definitively valuable, but it's not. The value Castro adds is conditional on:
A) The Twins having depth at the position Castro is vacating
B) The Twins not having depth at the position Castro is moving to

i.e. Willi Castro is playing (3.0 WAR 2B). Trevor Larnach (2.0 WAR LF) gets hurt, and the Twins pick Willi Castro (3.0 WAR LF) over Austin Martin (1.0 WAR LF). Brooks Lee becomes (1.0 WAR 2B). The Twins lose 1.0 WAR here vs. just leaving Castro at 2B and backfilling Larnach with Martin.

Castro is a valuable 3 WAR player, depending on where you play him, but he's not going to lead the team in production or anything like that.

[bean5302]

I honestly don't know what the Twins are going to do. They need to shed salary to keep Castro, but the super utility player could fill a roster hole wherever the Twins need him, though Castro can't catch, is a poor center fielder, and obviously playing him at 1B isn't a good value.

The Twins have holes at CF, 2B or 3B (depending on how they treat Royce Lewis) right now from my perspective, though needs could change as the Twins reorganize the roster.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

Big fan of Willi Castro, but he's probably a luxury that the Twins cannot afford to have on the payroll.  Not having him around makes Baldelli's job a little more difficult when the inevitable injuries happen, but much of his production can and will be replaced by the smaller efforts of other players.  Losing Castro is a negative, but I think the Twins will survive just fine. 

The real question I have is what he is actually worth in a trade.  So, assuming that the Twins pick up none of his salary, can we get a team's # 8 and #12 prospects, or is that too much to ask?  I don't think anyone will give us a top 5 prospect but if we can get two other prospects, the trade looks pretty good to me.  Or, if that doesn't work, does somebody have an extra major league first baseman or functional catcher lying around to trade? 

[Finlander]

There's something about a contract year that brings out the best in a player. I think he should be tendered for 2025 and then play him. He covered for so many injuries to others, and he's about the only real base stealing threat. If the young guys are ready for prime time at the deadline, I wonder if Castro would fetch even more in a midsummer trade than he would this spring.

[RpR]

25 minutes ago, Finlander said:

There's something about a contract year that brings out the best in a player. I think he should be tendered for 2025 and then play him. He covered for so many injuries to others, and he's about the only real base stealing threat. If the young guys are ready for prime time at the deadline, I wonder if Castro would fetch even more in a midsummer trade than he would this spring.

You mean trade a good player when the team is struggling to stay at .500, why?

If Kepler, Santana , Farmer leave, the Twins have a few decent players and a lot of crap-shoot players.

It seems few here care if the twins remain a top team or head to the basement, long term.

I do not pretend to be the Twins banker , so do not respond with, "Yeah but the Twins (unknown) budget next year is this."

[Finlander]

I advocated for signing and playing Castro rather than trading him in the off-season. Then at deadline reassess team roster status. My preference actually would be to sign him for two years and keep him - he is a positive in the clubhouse and on the field. His versatility has been a revelation, given the numerous injuries the team seems to suffer. But, I am not the Twins' banker either. I only proposed trading him if there are other players in the system ready to adequately replace his role for less salary. Yes, it would be only for salary relief. 

[Doctor Gast]

7 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Castro is a starting caliber player who is going to be playing every day, but he can only play one position at a time. There is a "best" position for him, and everywhere the Twins place him other than the best position reduces Castro's contributions.

There's a questionable narrative that Castro's positional flexibility is definitively valuable, but it's not. The value Castro adds is conditional on:
A) The Twins having depth at the position Castro is vacating
B) The Twins not having depth at the position Castro is moving to

i.e. Willi Castro is playing (3.0 WAR 2B). Trevor Larnach (2.0 WAR LF) gets hurt, and the Twins pick Willi Castro (3.0 WAR LF) over Austin Martin (1.0 WAR LF). Brooks Lee becomes (1.0 WAR 2B). The Twins lose 1.0 WAR here vs. just leaving Castro at 2B and backfilling Larnach with Martin.

Castro is a valuable 3 WAR player, depending on where you play him, but he's not going to lead the team in production or anything like that.

I agree with you but Castro also add extra value being a switch hitter where we have players who are good against LHPs but are lousy against RHPs & vise versa, But he is steady against both adding quality depth at many positions.

[TwinsDr2021]

11 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

Castro could be our full-time LFer & improve our WAR there, but the fact that he can fill in at RF, 3B, 2B, CF or SS does not make him less valuable, it makes him much more valuable. especially throw in that he switch-hits make him even more valuable. Castro was key to our success in '23 & was our MVP this last season. The thing is that he's not a full-time SS, & his extended time there wore him down. Castro is irreplaceable, we don't have a single person in our organization that can do what he does & w/o him IMO we not achieved what we did in '23 & wouldn't ever be in consideration for the postseason in '24. Instead of wasting our money on outside players, we should use that money to extend him. He one I consider core & should not be traded. We'd never get what he's worth to us.

Castro being the Twins MVP says way more about the Twins 24 season then how great Castro was or is. Castro is a fringe everyday player but great player when allowed to do what he does well (and that isn't starting and playing everyday)

I would argue pretty hard that he wasn't the key to the 23 success but was a vital part of the team success. I think ignoring Lewis, Wallner, Julien, Kepler, Jeffers, Gray, Lopex, Duran and others is a disservice to the the team.

If the plan for 25 doesn't include Castro starting but be a super utility guy again playing 120 or so games, I say tender him and keep him on the team. If the idea is to make him a starter or play him like a starter all over the field, I am all for tendering and trading or just non tendering him. I don't want him taking a starting spot from Lee or Erod.

[LambchoP]

With all our injury prone players all over the field I'd love it if we could keep Castro. We all know he'd have plenty of playing time with injuries and poor performance. If he takes a step back in production however, there are a few candidates like Keaschal, Eeles or Martin that could potentially replace him. Maybe we could trade him for a cheap lefty reliever that we really need. Fill a need in the pen and shed some salary to be used elsewhere. It will be interesting to see what the Twins do. My guess is Paddack and Castro will be gone for sure. They'll try to trade Vasquez but he'll be tougher. We'd probably have to attach a prospect to him to get a team to take on his whole salary, plus we have no viable replacements for him ATM.

[Otaknam]

I think Castro will be traded as a salary dump, with salary dumping the Twins go to move in 2025. Saves them $6 million. But I think the return would at best be a decent AA prospect with an upside, maybe a pitcher they take a flyer on. 

[Fred]

10 hours ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Big fan of Willi Castro, but he's probably a luxury that the Twins cannot afford to have on the payroll.  Not having him around makes Baldelli's job a little more difficult when the inevitable injuries happen, but much of his production can and will be replaced by the smaller efforts of other players.  Losing Castro is a negative, but I think the Twins will survive just fine. 

The real question I have is what he is actually worth in a trade.  So, assuming that the Twins pick up none of his salary, can we get a team's # 8 and #12 prospects, or is that too much to ask?  I don't think anyone will give us a top 5 prospect but if we can get two other prospects, the trade looks pretty good to me.  Or, if that doesn't work, does somebody have an extra major league first baseman or functional catcher lying around to trade? 

Your first sentence had me hooked. Exactly! I wish they could keep him, but I know he's replaceable. The 40 man has a couple of guys who could fill his role (for less money).

[JD-TWINS]

Castro - Jeffers - Lopez to Arizona for Moreno (C) & Jordan Montgomery. AZ pays $12M of Montgomery’s salary and AZ owner is rid of him. Twins youthful pitchers take up slack in rotation in ‘26 when Montgomery leaves. New ownership and a new approach for ‘26.

Twins shed $31M in salary in this trade. Rotation stays competitive in ‘25. They spend $12.8M on the aquired players. They get a very solid young catcher with team control. Net salary gain to be spent on a real BAT is $18M!

Trade Duran and (AA or C. Lewis from AAA) young starter for Tristan Casas at 1B - with Boston.

Solid Catcher - Solid 1B - $$ to spend on a new hitter as well. Jax is closer.

Paddack/Varland/Alcala/Sands/Topa/Stewart get the ball to Jax.

[bean5302]

4 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

I agree with you but Castro also add extra value being a switch hitter where we have players who are good against LHPs but are lousy against RHPs & vise versa, But he is steady against both adding quality depth at many positions.

Castro with the Twins
Batting Left vs. RHP: .251/.334/.395 OPS .729 ISO .144 wRC+ 108, 8.1% BB, 23.9%K
Batting Right vs. LHP: .240/.302/.356 OPS .659 ISO .116 wRC+ 87, 6.8% BB, 23.3% K

vs. say Jose Miranda's career
Batting Right vs. RHP: .275/.331/.418 OPS .748, ISO .143 wRC+ 113, 5.7% BB, 16.5% K
Batting Right vs. LHP: .247/.277/.407 OPS .683, ISO .159 wRC+ 91, 3.9% BB, 18.3% K

Miranda's better against RHP and LHP with a similar split between right and left despite being a right handed batter. Switch hitting is only worth something if the hitter is good at hitting from both sides of the plate, and Castro is not.

[JD-TWINS]

24 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Castro - Jeffers - Lopez to Arizona for Moreno (C) & Jordan Montgomery. AZ pays $12M of Montgomery’s salary and AZ owner is rid of him. Twins youthful pitchers take up slack in rotation in ‘26 when Montgomery leaves. New ownership and a new approach for ‘26.

Twins shed $31M in salary in this trade. Rotation stays competitive in ‘25. They spend $12.8M on the aquired players. They get a very solid young catcher with team control. Net salary gain to be spent on a real BAT is $18M!

Trade Duran and (AA or C. Lewis from AAA) young starter for Tristan Casas at 1B - with Boston.

Solid Catcher - Solid 1B - $$ to spend on a new hitter as well. Jax is closer.

Paddack/Varland/Alcala/Sands/Topa/Stewart get the ball to Jax.

Maybe to make the deal’s more $$ palatable to the trade partner in AZ…….if Castro - Jeffers - Z. Matthew’s to Arizona and we get J. Montgomery & Moreno back and AZ covers half of Montgomery’s salary. That leaves $12.5M owed to Montgomery.

Then flip Montgomery & include Duran to the Red Sox for Tristan Casas.

Twins again get a solid young catcher and a solid young guy at 1B. They save $6.3M + $3M + $3.7M on Castro, Jeffers, & Duran - respectively…….this way they keep Lopez and have $13M to spend towards a bat.

???

[stringer bell]

2 hours ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

I would argue pretty hard that he wasn't the key to the 23 success but was a vital part of the team success. I think ignoring Lewis, Wallner, Julien, Kepler, Jeffers, Gray, Lopex, Duran and others is a disservice to the the team.

???—not the key, but a vital part of the team success? Isn’t that a distinction without a difference?

The point here that both Willi and the team are better served if Willi is not an everyday player, but a guy who starts all over 3-4 times a week. It’s a slight demotion from the super utility role in 2024. 

[DJL44]

11 hours ago, Finlander said:

I wonder if Castro would fetch even more in a midsummer trade than he would this spring.

I think he might return more at the deadline. His positional flexibility means just about every contender would have a spot for him on their roster. Half his salary will be paid down so he will fit into every team's budget. It has been a seller's market the past few trade deadlines.

58 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

Castro with the Twins
Batting Left vs. RHP: .251/.334/.395 OPS .729 ISO .144 wRC+ 108, 8.1% BB, 23.9%K
Batting Right vs. LHP: .240/.302/.356 OPS .659 ISO .116 wRC+ 87, 6.8% BB, 23.3% K

vs. say Jose Miranda's career
Batting Right vs. RHP: .275/.331/.418 OPS .748, ISO .143 wRC+ 113, 5.7% BB, 16.5% K
Batting Right vs. LHP: .247/.277/.407 OPS .683, ISO .159 wRC+ 91, 3.9% BB, 18.3% K

Miranda's better against RHP and LHP with a similar split between right and left despite being a right handed batter. Switch hitting is only worth something if the hitter is good at hitting from both sides of the plate, and Castro is not.

That's not a big gap and Castro's speed closes that gap.

There isn't anyone on the Twins 40-man roster with his mix of speed and defense. Brooks Lee is versatile but slow. Austin Martin has speed but can't field. You can piece together his contribution from 6 different players but that would take up 6 roster spots which means you can't actually replace him in aggregate.

I would be open to trading Castro but I would want more than the Twins got for Polanco. He's a better player and costs half as much.

[Jeff K]

I advocate that the Twins sign and trade Castro.  I've said this before, I think his poor second half was a result of playing too often.  Also, despite loving his flexibility; Castro would be well served to focus on 2 or 3 positions vs. 5/6 from last year.  He ought to improve his fielding if able to focus more.  Someone previously said this, Castro as the team MVP is more an indictment on the 24 Twins than Castro's actual value.  I really like the guy, but if the Twins could get a viable relief pitcher and free themselves of his salary, they will be better served IF they put the saved dollars to good use.  They would have to free up additional $'s with the most likely candidate; Paddock.

[umterp23]

If we are looking to move Castro, throw in a Zebby or Festa along with Lee/Julien and go after Matt Shaw with the Cubs.  Shaw was a stud at Maryland in college as a SS but very easily could slot over to 2nd base to solve our need there since no one believes either Castro there full time or Lee, Lewis, Julien in near term.  Don't have a numbers/value idea if that would work but can't hurt to poke the cubs on what it might take.  Most likely a front line starting pitcher but not sure I would want to give up our top 3 established guys

[PatPfund]

I'd guess Castro is one of the most likely trade candidates since I don't see the top 3 going anywhere (Correa/Buxton can nix a trade; Lopez is an in-prime ace), and Paddack/Vasquez would be tough to move. I'm sure the feelers are out now; if there isn't much market I'd expect the Twins to non-tender Castro, and see how things go (he could always be re-signed as a free agent if a big deal doesn't develop).

[bean5302]

27 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I think he might return more at the deadline. His positional flexibility means just about every contender would have a spot for him on their roster. Half his salary will be paid down so he will fit into every team's budget. It has been a seller's market the past few trade deadlines.

That's not a big gap and Castro's speed closes that gap.

There isn't anyone on the Twins 40-man roster with his mix of speed and defense. Brooks Lee is versatile but slow. Austin Martin has speed but can't field. You can piece together his contribution from 6 different players but that would take up 6 roster spots which means you can't actually replace him in aggregate.

I would be open to trading Castro but I would want more than the Twins got for Polanco. He's a better player and costs half as much.

wRC+ takes speed into consideration, and Castro is not universally good defender. Career (positive numbers bolded):
2B 1150 innings, DRS = -9, UZR/150 = -4.5, OAA = +4
3B 458 innings, DRS = +1, UZR/150 = +5.3, OAA = +2
SS 1187 innings, DRS = -21, UZR/150 = -6.4, OAA = -3
LF 815 innings, DRS = -2, UZR/150 = -5.0, OAA = -1
CF 593 innings, DRS = -6, UZR/150 = -12.1, OAA = -4
RF 332 innings, DRS = +2, UZR/150 = +6.6, OAA = -1

Castro is probably a plus fielder at 3B. I'd wager he's neutral at 2B, and below average to bad at all other positions.

I like Castro, but his value as a player in isolation is being overinflated, IMHO. He's a serviceable fielder, he's an above average hitter overall, but he can't hit lefties very well so his switch hitting isn't all that valuable.

[TwinsDr2021]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

???—not the key, but a vital part of the team success? Isn’t that a distinction without a difference?

The point here that both Willi and the team are better served if Willi is not an everyday player, but a guy who starts all over 3-4 times a week. It’s a slight demotion from the super utility role in 2024. 

IMO there is a difference between the key piece of a team and vital part of the team. For example SWR wasn't the key piece to the Twins rotation but he played a vital role.

And yes, he should be getting a demotion from the playing time he got in 24, not a promotion or even the same playing time. He is an average major league starter which I believe his OPS+ the last two years prove.

[LA Vikes Fan]

30 minutes ago, Jeff K said:

I advocate that the Twins sign and trade Castro.  I've said this before, I think his poor second half was a result of playing too often.  Also, despite loving his flexibility; Castro would be well served to focus on 2 or 3 positions vs. 5/6 from last year.  He ought to improve his fielding if able to focus more.  Someone previously said this, Castro as the team MVP is more an indictment on the 24 Twins than Castro's actual value.  I really like the guy, but if the Twins could get a viable relief pitcher and free themselves of his salary, they will be better served IF they put the saved dollars to good use.  They would have to free up additional $'s with the most likely candidate; Paddock.

While I think this is a good approach, there is a fit problem with Castro on the roster. The problem is that he's been a consistent .660-.680 OPS guy against LH pitching over the last 3 years so he really isn't a viable platoon guy or replacement for the guys that struggle against LH pitching like Wallner, Larnach, Miranda, Julien etc.  Those are the guys for whom you'd like to have a player who excels against LH pitching playing a couple of days a week. Still, he has value so don't just give him away for salary relief or a B/B- prospect unless you take that money and use it on a starting pitcher or quality bat at 1B or in LF.  

My thought is that if we can get a quality reliever or B+ prospect near the MLB level, trade him in the offseason. In the more likely event we cannot, he is on the roster as a quasi super utility player (starts 3 days a week or so mostly against RH pitching, late inning PH or PR, good injury replacement), Have him really focus on 2B, 3B, and LF. Then look at the trade deadline where teams are looking to fill holes created by injury or subpar performance and trade him for a B+ prospect or a decent reliever. If he's hitting, that should be available. If he's not, we lose the gamble. If he's somehow stepped up to being a true key piece on a contending roster, we keep him.