The Minnesota Twins added organizational depth to their infield on Friday, agreeing to a minor league deal with Willi Castro per KSTP’s Darren Wolfson.
Castro spent the first four seasons of his career with the Detroit Tigers and showed promise on a part-time basis in 2019 and 2020. Castro particularly saw success during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, playing in 36 games, hitting .349/.381/.550 with six homers and 24 RBI.
The 26-year-old hasn’t been able to find the same success as a full-time player over the past two seasons. In 237 games with the Tigers, Castro hit .230/.278/.359 with 17 homers and 18 stolen bases but also struck out 191 times in 778 at-bats.
The Tigers opted to non-tender Castro at last month’s arbitration deadline, making him a free agent.
The acquisition of Castro wouldn’t move the needle for Twins fans searching for a big name but it could serve a purpose. Castro has experience playing second base, shortstop and the outfield during his career and could be an insurance plan for a team that was ravaged by injuries a season ago.
Castro’s biggest appeal may be at shortstop, however, where the Twins are looking to replace Carlos Correa. With Kyle Farmer currently projected to be Minnesota’s Opening Day shortstop, Castro could form a committee approach until Royce Lewis fully recovers from a torn ACL.
Castro has one option year remaining and is under team control through the 2025 season.
