Welington

Castillo

Castillo spent the past couple of seasons with the Nationals. He opted out of playing during the truncated 2020 season, and was part of the team’s taxi squad earlier this year. The 34-year-old wraps up a 10 year big league career as a .254/.313/.426 hitter with 98 homers and 339 RBI in 726 games.

Of the 10 reassignments, the only surprise is Parra, who looked like he might’ve had a shot to break camp on the big-league roster as a reserve outfielder. Yet, the Nationals decided to go with versatile utilityman Hernan Perez instead.

That’s why Castillo has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game up to this point, but the veteran catcher is throwing now and should see some live action relatively soon. Castillo, 33, signed a minor league deal with Washington in December after opting out of the 2020 season due to concerns about COVID-19. He’s probably fourth on the club’s depth chart behind Yan Gomes, Alex Avila, and Tres Barrera.

Castillo inked a minor league deal with the Nats last winter before officially opting out of the delayed 2020 season in early July because of concerns about COVID-19. The veteran catcher slashed .209/.267/.417 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI over 72 games (251 plate appearances) with the White Sox in 2019.

Castillo signed a minor league contract with the Nationals back in January and probably would have been carried as their third catcher, but he’ll join teammates Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross in sitting out of MLB’s planned 60-game 2020 campaign. Mike Leake of the Diamondbacks, Ian Desmond of the Rockies, and free agent Tyson Ross are also declining to participate this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nationals released Strickland on Saturday, and it not only clears up a spot on the 26-man roster, it also makes room on the 40-man. That is necessary to add Guerra, who was re-signed in December to a minor league contract. Dougherty also mentions that the Nationals could go with a third catcher like Welington Castillo, or utility-man Emilio Bonifacio.

Castillo came down with some shoulder soreness last weekend, but he’s beginning to show tangible signs of progress. The 32-year-old is in Nats’ camp as a non-roster invitee after batting just 209/.267/.417 with 12 home runs over 251 plate appearances with the White Sox last season.

He was originally in the lineup as the designated hitter and was set to catch in Sunday’s game. He will sit out for the next two days at least in an effort to give the shoulder time to heal. Castillo signed a minor league deal with the Nationals after being non-tendered by the Rangers in November. He struggled to get things going at the dish last year, slashing just .209/.267/.417 with 12 home runs and 41 RIB in 251 plate appearances.

It’s a little surprising that Castillo wasn’t able to find a better opportunity somewhere else, as the Nats seemingly already have their catchers set with Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes. Perhaps they’ll consider carrying three catchers with the rosters expanding to 26. Castillo is coming off a poor 2019 that saw him bat just .209/.267/.417 with 12 homers over 72 games.

The first year of his two-year, $15 million contract was a disappointment, partially due to a PED suspension, but Castillo is probably a top-10 catcher option by default in mixed fantasy leagues. In fact, after Salvador Perez’s Tommy John surgery, he’s a top-three option among AL catchers. It’s a low bar indeed.