Baltimore Orioles: Welington Castillo leaves the team for free agency

Now that Welington Castillo has declined his player option, the Baltimore Orioles are down to a backup catcher and the team’s number-one prospect.

After an outstanding 2017 season with the Baltimore Orioles, Castillo is going to try to make more than the $7 million the Orioles were going to pay him for 2018.

The announcement was shared with Jon Heyman and his FanRag Sports Network.

Castillo and Joseph split time successfully

Castillo split his time in 2017 with Caleb Joseph, but Castillo had a significantly better season at the plate than his platoon partner. Castillo hit .282/.323/.490/.813 with 20 home runs and 53 RBIs. Joseph hit .256/.287/.413/.700 with 8 home runs and 28 home runs. Castillo played in 96 games and Joseph played in six.

The Orioles platoon was one of the strongest in the American League along with the duos from the Houston Astros and Chicago White Sox.

Why Castillo declined his option

Castillo had his best season in his career, which explains why he decided to test the free agency market for more than $7 million. His route to the Orioles started with a handful of seasons with the Chicago Cubs. Then, in 2015, he spent the season with three teams, the Cubs, Seattle Marines, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. He also spent 2016 in Arizona then was signed by the Orioles in his first year of free agency.

Castillo’s free agent catcher competition

Castillo’s numbers put him in the same conversation with other free agent catchers like Jonathan Lucroy and Alex Avila. Avila’s bat was hot when he played for the Tigers prior to being sent to the Cubs at the trade deadline in July. Interestingly, Lucroy performed better in the second half after he was traded from the Texas Rangers to the Colorado Rockies. Castillo was markedly better with power as Lucroy hit six home runs and Avila hit 14, and three of them were with the Cubs.

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Lucroy is the oldest of the three catchers at age 31 and Avila is the only one who bats left. Avila and Castillo are both 30. Of the three, Castillo had a better 2017 season. But, all three are perfectly capable pitchers both crouching behind the dish and standing next to it.

How will the O’s be without Castillo?

With Castillo’s departure, the catching job is expected to go to Joseph, who will most likely share his time with Chance Sisco. During the September call-ups, Sisco hit two home runs in 18 at-bats and he batted .333/.455/.778/1.232. Will he maintain numbers like that a rookie in 2018? Most likely not, but he did bat .311 with an OPS of .815 in his five years in the minor leagues. Adding Sisco to the roster to platoon with Joseph would add some excitement to the 2018 season.

There is also a small chance that Castillo could come back to the Orioles, but with a slightly bigger contract that he anticipated when he first signed with the team in the 2016 off-season. Either way, it looks like the Orioles will be ok with catchers.