Every off-season, organizations around baseball try to strengthen their depth using under-the-radar signings. Depth was a massive issue for the Minnesota Twins following a 2022 season where they were one of the most injured teams in the league.
The Twins signed Donovan Solano and traded for Michael A. Taylor and Kyle Farmer to bolster veteran depth. However, Willi Castro was one of their more important depth signings last year. They signed the former Detroit Tigers utility man to a minor league contract last January. At the time, it seemed like they took a flier on a young guy with some experience who could play multiple positions. Castro used his positional flexibility to make the Opening Day roster while becoming more important than anyone could have imagined.
Castro, 26, put together the best season of his five-year career. He slashed .257/.339/.411 while tying a career-high 9 home runs and earning a career-high 2.5 fWAR in 124 games. The most important part of his game was on the basepaths, where he stole a career-high 33 bases, which led the team. Castro also put his defensive versatility to use by playing second base (10 games), third base (41), shortstop (8). He was just as busy in the outfield, too, with 103 starts spread between 54 games in left field, 45 games in center, and 4 games in right field.
Castro’s breakout season as a low-cost acquisition gave the Twins something they needed while taking from Detroit’s roster. Two years ago, the Tigers found their own uncut gem in Akil Baddoo, a former Twins minor leaguer. Baddoo, 25, was Minnesota’s fourth-round pick in 2016 who reached High-A in 2019. There was no minor league season in 2020. So with the team unable to truly evaluate him, Baddoo was susceptible to being drafted as a Rule 5 pick by other teams. The Tigers stole Baddooo from the Twins in the Rule 5. That year, Baddoo immediately made an impact for Detroit as a rookie while tormenting Minnesota.
Baddoo slashed .259/.330/.436 with 13 home runs, generated 1.8 fWAR, and sketched his name into Detroit’s plans as a starting corner outfielder. A disappointing 2021 campaign mixed with Baddoo’s breakout campaign was tough for Twins fans to watch. It felt like the team let a useful player get away, even though not many fans knew of him before the season.
Did the Twins see something in Castro that indicated he’d have a breakout season? It’s highly unlikely. But the Tigers couldn’t have fully projected Baddoo’s breakout, either. Those teams gave an opportunity to a guy with upside, and it panned out. The big question going forward for Castro will be how closely he can mimic this season’s production because Baddoo has been unable to replicate his own breakout season.
Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Baddoo has produced at a below-average clip. In 185 games, he slashed .212/.302/.331 with 13 home runs and a 79 wRC+ clip over the last two seasons. There’s still plenty of time for Baddoo to return to his 2021 form. However, it certainly softens the blow of losing Baddoo, especially if Castro continues to be as valuable as he was in 2023.
Castro was at his best against the fastball last year. He posted a career-high 8-run value against the pitch, improving on his -4 run value mark against the heater in 2022. Castro produced a career-high 86.5 mph average exit velocity off his bat. That’s below league average but a positive step. The higher exit velocities coincided with a career-high 26.1 percent fly ball rate. However, Castro’s success seems tied to becoming a more disciplined hitter, working a career-high 8.3 percent walk rate last year.
A 51.6 swing percentage was a 3.6 percent decline from the season, which allowed Castro to be more selective at the plate. A 34.6 percent chase rate was his career-best and a 4.8 percent improvement from 2022. His 34.6 first-pitch swing percentage dipped 4.9 percent, but it’s still well above league average. In a season where the Twins weren’t aggressive enough on the first pitch of an at-bat, Castro found that happy medium. It put him into more advantageous situations hitting, which he turned into a .834 OPS after swinging at the first pitch.
Baddoo had a great rookie year and has been unable to build off it. So-so numbers followed Castro in his career, with a career 85 wRC+ mark and .637 OPS before his solid 2023 campaign. Especially for a guy whose big league career started at age 22, earlier than that league average debut age of 24.8 years old. In turn, Baddoo still hasn’t been able to figure out how to crush fastballs (1 run value in 2023). However, Baddoo’s career-high 11.8 percent walk rate shows he is much more disciplined than Castro who had a career high 8.3 percent walk rate in 2023.
Maybe Baddoo still needs time to fully develop. The Twins are in a win-now mode, and Minnesota has reaped the rewards of Castro’s breakout season in their competitive window. Castro can become a short- and long-term piece. Because he signed a minor league contract, he’s still under team control for the next two seasons. Castro’s $1.8 million salary in 2023 will increase in arbitration. Spotrac estimates that he will make $3.8 million next year.
Castro will most likely become a fill-in utility man next year. The Twins can plug him in at infield and outfield spots, allowing him to rack up enough at-bats to remain productive at the plate. Castro’s ceiling isn’t a starter. However, his best-case scenario is that he can cover for some of the work Kyle Farmer did in the infield and Michael A. Taylor did as the primary backup center fielder.
Castro’s out-of-nowhere season provided the Twins with a good player who can start at nearly every position and eases Baddoo’s loss in 2021. If Castro continues to hit the fastball and remains a menace on the bases, he can be valuable to the Twins in the future. Even if he regresses next season, Castro gives the Twins a chance to continue to build out the depth that helped them reach the postseason in 2023.
