Earlier today, Michael wondered if the catching market was about to pick back up, and mused about those early-offseason Willson Contreras rumors that were hot-and-heavy and then fell way off.
Well, to that end:
Catcher Jason Castro and the Los Angeles Angels are in agreement on a one-year, $6.85M deal, pending physical, sources tell ESPN. Castro rounds out an Angels lineup that added Anthony Rendon and should have top outfield prospect Jo Adell in the big leagues early this season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 3, 2020
The Angels’ hole at catcher was among the biggest holes in baseball on contending teams, so they were always going to add someone. And, with Joe Maddon at the helm, it was fair to wonder, at a superficial level, whether the Angels might make a run at Contreras. Whether they would or did or whatever, you can put that one to bed.
Castro, 32, brings a league-average-ish bat when he’s healthy, and pairs it with solid defense and framing. He appears to be on the decline, but he’s likely still a “starter”, so no, I don’t see the Angels looking to pair him with a guy like Contreras.
To that end, the way the Contreras rumors played out, and the timing on the free agent catching market, makes me think the Cubs were happy to listen to offers when the catching market was hot back in November. But if they weren’t blown away, they weren’t going to move Contreras (who has a ton of value and could help for the future, but who doesn’t quite move the needle on payroll in a substantial way). Since he’s still with the Cubs, suffice to guess the Cubs were never blown away.
The better hope when it comes to Contreras is not that the Cubs trade him for a haul, but instead is that the extremely revamped catching infrastructure pays huge dividends on the framing/defense side of his game. Get him to average or above average on that front, and boom, you’ve suddenly got one of the most valuable players in the NL.