The Rockies have come to an agreement on a two-year free agent contract with utility man Willi Castro, according to a report from MLB Network insider Jon Heyman on Thursday. The club has not confirmed the move.
Castro enters his age-29 season coming off a down year that was split between the Twins and Cubs, who acquired the utilityman from Minnesota in a July 31 trade for a pair of Minor Leaguers.
He brings some experience to a young infield group. The Rockies finished the season with rookies Kyle Karros at third base, Ryan Ritter at second base and Blaine Crim at first base. Troy Johnston, who debuted with the Marlins last year, also could fit in at first base and the outfield.
Additionally, Tyler Freeman played primarily in right field, but he came through the Guardians’ chain as an infielder. Freeman, obtained from Cleveland in a trade last Spring Training for outfielder Nolan Jones, played second base at the beginning and toward the end of last season.
As a switch-hitter, Castro helps balance a mostly right-handed hitting infield. Johnston is the only lefty hitter of the aforementioned group.
After an All-Star campaign in 2024, Castro saw a dip in his numbers in 2025, recording his lowest batting average (.226) since 2021 and his lowest OPS (.679) and OPS+ (89) since 2022. But the seven-year veteran did achieve a second straight season with double-digit homers (11) after doing it for the first time in 2024 (12).
Despite the overall down year on offense, Castro had stretches when he showed he can be quite a valuable hitter. In one 17-game span from June 2-20, he hit .373 with a 1.049 OPS. He had six multi-hit games during that stretch, including two three-hit games. In fact, Castro’s offensive numbers were on pace to surpass his 2024 stats before the trade to Chicago. In 86 games with the Twins, he had a .743 OPS and a 104 OPS+, both of which are above league average. But Castro struggled with the bat in his 34 games with the Cubs (.170 average in 110 PAs), which caused those numbers to drop significantly.
On defense, Castro brings versatility. Though he spent most of his time as an outfielder in 2025 (76 games), he also spent significant time at second base (48 games) and third base (23 games) and also made some appearances at shortstop (five games). But even with the ability to play multiple positions, Castro’s defense has been limited. He had minus-9 Outs Above Average in 2025, which ranked near the bottom among all MLB defenders.
Still, he brings a strong throwing arm (MLB’s 86th percentile) and above-average speed, both of which offer solid value.
