Why the Yankees should trade for versatile switch-hitting infielder

MLB: New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins
Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

My favorite option for the Yankees’ infield issue was Ha-Seong Kim, a slick-fielding infielder who had both the defensive chops to win a Gold Glove and the offensive skills to help the lineup out. With the Rays inking him to a two-year $29 million deal, that’s not on the table anymore, and that means it’s time to go back to the whiteboard and look at which players I’ve identified as good fits for the team still remain on the market.

There’s a limited pool of infielders who are known to be available on the trade market and can help the Yankees, but one name stands out to me as a strong fit. Willi Castro has been reported to be available by the Twins, who have yet to do much this offseason, and if they decide to move off of the 27-year-old, the Yankees would be a great fit.

Willi Castro Could Be a Difference-Maker For the Yankees’ Infield

MLB: Miami Marlins at Minnesota Twins
Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Yankees aren’t going to wind up with the kind of player who ends up becoming a star, but they could end up with a player that can be an above-average third baseman. Willi Castro serves as a strong candidate for that role due to his overall skillset, with a 108 wRC+ in 2023 and 2024 while being a solid defensive third baseman. Spending most of his career at second base and shortstop, a shift to third base where he has 458 innings played and +2 OAA might be perfect for his skill set as an infielder who can handle making throws from the hot corner.

Good defense, specifically at third base, is a big deal for me considering it would move Jazz Chisholm back to second base and also keep the theme of improving the defense going. It just makes sense to try and build a strong defense if you’re going to experience a drop-off in offensive production, which is what most projections expect for the Yankees this season given that they just lost Juan Soto. Last year the Yankees finished 10th in OAA (9), 2nd in Fielding Run Value (36), and 12th in DRS (31); they need to be an elite defensive team, not just a good one.

Their infield defense should be remarkable with Willi Castro, Austin Wells is a remarkable defensive catcher, and Jasson Dominguez is their only massive question mark in that regard. I don’t expect to see Castro win a Gold Glove at the hot corner, but above-average defense is an incredible improvement over what they got from Gleyber Torres over the past two seasons. Defense isn’t the only thing driving an addition for the Yankees though, offense has to be part of the equation, especially since both Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu are quality defensive players at third base.

READ MORE: Yankees pursued controversial first baseman from AL East rival

When you overlay his spray chart with Yankee Stadium, the ballpark plays well for the pulled flyballs he can generate from the left-handed side. Castro would have hit 19 home runs if he had played all of his games at Yankee Stadium instead of the 12 he had hit this season, which is a monumental improvement. Now, players can’t play 100% of their games in one venue, so if you just look at his home games he would have hit five more additional home runs on the season. An improvement from 12 to 17 is notable, and it would help improve Castro’s wRC+ by a considerable margin.

The improvements that Willi Castro has made under the hood have resulted in career-best marks in his SEAGER score, Zone Contact%, and xwOBA, and the Yankees could get even more out of him. His left-handed swing plays at Yankee Stadium and James Rowson has shown that he can get guys to pull the ball in the air more. Jazz Chisholm experienced an increase in his pull rate upon arrival in the Bronx, something he also did with Rowson when the two were in Miami in 2022.

From the left-handed side, he pulled the ball in the air about 1% more than the league average, but if the Yankees could push that number a little bit more, Castro could improve his overall OPS even more. Projections aren’t very high on Willi Castro’s 2025 outlook, with a 99 projected wRC+ according to Steamer and a 97 OPS+ according to ZiPS, but the change in ballpark paired with the already-existing defensive skills could make him a ~105 wRC+ bat for the Yankees. It’s not sexy, but it’ll work for their hole in the infield, and there’s one last thing Castro could provide to the table.

MLB: Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins
Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

This past season Willi Castro only stole 14 bases, was caught nine times, and had a negative BsR as a result of those baserunning blunders. The year prior, Castro took full advantage of the new baserunning rules and swiped 33 bases in just 38 attempts with a +5.1 BsR, being one of the best baserunners in the sport. If he’s somewhere in between the dominant baserunning season he had in 2023 and the below-average one he had in 2024, then he’s going to be a fine weapon for a Yankees’ offense that will have to rely on their legs a lot more to generate offense.

I’ve made a big fuss about the Yankees being the worst team on the bases in baseball last season and having one of the worst baserunning seasons in their franchise’s storied history. Juan Soto, Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, and Alex Verdugo combined for -13.7 BsR; the Yankees had a -16.9 BsR as a team in 2024. The focus for the Yankees cannot be trying to replace what they’re losing offensively, it has to be finding a way to get players that can produce the most value on the baseball diamond, regardless of what their OPS or wRC+ is.

Willi Castro has become a ~3 WAR player with the Twins as a utilityman playing five to six different positions based on the Twins’ needs in a given season, and the Yankees can offer him the chance to just focus on the infield. If he’s a +2 BsR guy and hits as well as he has over the past two seasons, we could be looking at another 3 WAR season, which the Yankees would gladly take. Mark Leiter Jr. or another reliever on the roster could appeal to Minnesota, triggering them to make this deal and use their surplus of internal infield options to fill out his spot on the roster.

Both teams match up well with each other, the Yankees have a need in the infield, and Willi Castro is well-rounded enough to be a good one-year solution to their problems.

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