The Rockies reportedly added another veteran to their 2026 roster, as former All-Star Willi Castro will join the team on a two-year deal. Castro was one of the most versatile and underrated infielders between 2023 and 2025 but slumped over the final two months of last season with the Cubs.
A Look at Castro
Former Twins infielder Willi Castro proved to be a sneaky find for Minnesota after the team scooped him up on a Minor League deal in December 2022. Castro was one of baseball’s best rookies in 2020 but two down seasons led him not be tendered a contract after the 2022 campaign.
He played a valuable role for the Twins’ AL Central-winning team in 2023, as he stole a career-best 33 bases over 124 contests and played all over the infield. Castro then became an All-Star in 2024 and posted good numbers again in 2025. With the Twins, he cracked 27 extra-base hits, 10 of which were home runs, over 86 contests.
However, Castro’s second half was among baseball’s worst. The veteran infielder slashed .161/.238/.248 (.486 OPS) after the All-Star break. His .486 OPS was the third-lowest (min. 100 PA) in the league during that stretch, behind only Nick Allen and Henry Davis.
Most of those at-bats he had in the second half were while he was in Chicago, as the Twins packaged him to the Cubs in July for Sam Armstrong and rising pitching prospect Ryan Gallagher. He only had 110 plate appearances across 34 games with the Cubs, mostly used in a utility role.
Castro is an interesting hitter. He doesn’t pull the ball a lot, has roughly league-average bat speed, and a propensity to expand out of the zone. His Chase% was extremely high as a Tiger; he expanded out of the zone 39.8% of the time in 2022. However, he has cut down since the 2023 season.
A switch-hitter, Castro has put up roughly similar numbers against lefties and righties throughout his career. But this past year, he slashed .250/.310/.442 against left-handed pitching, juxtaposed to a .218/.315/.339 slash line against right-handers.
Traditionally an average defender, Castro has experience playing all over the infield. He spent time at nearly every infield position in 2025, except first base and catcher. Plus, time at all three outfield positions. However, the results in the infield were not too great, at least based upon Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric.
Castro had a cumulative -9 Outs Above Average in 2025. All of that came by way of his playing time at short, third, and second.
Per ESPN, the Rockies will sign Willi Castro to a two-year deal.
Analysis
Utilitymen retain value for obvious reasons. Those players can slot in the lineup in several different ways and can be used in different ways.
After a tough second half, this is not a bad landing spot for Castro whatsoever. The Rockies have several young infielders on the 40-man roster, including Adael Amador and Ryan Ritter, who could slot at second base this year. However, Colorado doesn’t have an established third baseman on the roster, as the Rockies traded Ryan McMahon to the Yankees this past July.
Kyle Karros, a fifth-round pick from the 2023 MLB Draft, saw 40 starts at third base in 2025 and came into the winter as a likely favorite to play there again in 2026.
Castro can, theoretically, fill a void as that kind of player who can play third and second. Not to mention, he could see an uptick in offensive production given the hitter-friendly confines at Coors Field.
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