Jason Castro will be one of the most sought after MLB free agents this offseason because of his ability at the plate and behind it.
The current free agent class is one of the worst that has been seen in quite a few years. With almost no starting pitchers of value, just a few high end relievers, and a tiny group of adequate hitters, teams looking to upgrade their rosters this winter will have a tough time.
At catcher, teams struggle to find an adequate player even in a large pool of impressive free agents. Attempting to find a catcher that can both provide substantial offense and handle himself behind the plate can be incredibly difficult. Often the decision comes down to choosing one or the other.
Jason Castro is one of the catchers that manages to fulfill both what teams want at the plate and with the glove. He’s no Buster Posey, or even Yasmani Grandal, but he was about league average for catchers this season with a .210/.307/.377 line. Although he doesn’t handle the bat as impressively as the two aforementioned catchers, he fell in line just behind them in framing, according to Baseball Prospectus. That value behind the plate can’t be understated.
For these reasons, he will receive quite a few suitors during this offseason. Already it has been reported that three American League teams are interested in Castro. While there was no report stating which three American League teams actually expressed interest, it is known that the Astros are looking to keep him. Other teams in the American League that may have interest are the Twins, Rays, Orioles, and White Sox.
A team in the National League that could sneak up and sign him is the Chicago Cubs. With the retirement of David Ross, and the comments Miguel Montero made following the World Series victory about playing time, the Cubs may be in the market for a catcher to complement Willson Contreras. Castro would fit the Cubs’ affinity to framers, but wouldn’t entirely make sense because of an inability to have a catching platoon. If they are willing to punt on offense in exchange for framing, they might as well stick with Montero, comments about playing time and all.