White Sox sign Welington Castillo to 2-year, $15M deal
The Chicago White Sox have themselves a new starting catcher.
Chicago announced Friday it has inked free-agent backstop Welington Castillo, who spent last season with the Baltimore Orioles, to a two-year, $15-million contract with a third-year club option in 2020.
The option is reportedly valued at $8 million, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
GM Rick Hahn on Castillo signing: pic.twitter.com/epUF0Vhd69
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) December 1, 2017
Castillo was non-tendered by the Arizona Diamondbacks last offseason, a decision the D-Backs may have regretted after the 30-year-old broke out with a career season in Baltimore. Despite being limited to just 96 games because of a groin injury, Castillo slashed .282/.323/.490 (115 OPS+) in 2017, and crushed 20 homers, sixth among big-league catchers. He also provided solid defense for the Orioles, throwing out a league-leading 49 percent of would-be base-stealers.
Following his career season, Castillo chose to become a free agent again when he declined his $7-million option.
The White Sox should benefit from Castillo's presence behind the plate, helping their young pitching staff. Last year, the South Siders' catching trio of Omar Navarez, Kevan Smith, and Geovany Soto combined to accrue just two WAR, per Fangraphs, and a 94 wRC+ while hitting just 11 total homers, third-lowest in the majors.
Castillo owns a career slash line of .259/.319/.428 with 80 homers and 203 RBIs across eight major-league seasons with the Orioles, Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, and Seattle Mariners.