Nationals' Welington Castillo: Opts for retirement
Rotowire
Castillo retired from professional baseball on Sunday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Castillo last saw game action with Triple-A Rochester in mid-June, and he's opted to hang up his cleats. The 34-year-old played 10 years in the big leagues and had a .254/.313/.426 slash line with 98 homers in 726 games between the Cubs, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Mariners and Orioles.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Healthy at Triple-A
Rotowire
Castillo (shoulder) has appeared in five games this season for Triple-A Rochester, going 3-for-11 with seven walks and an RBI.
Castillo is healthy again after he was slowed during the Nationals' big-league spring training due to a shoulder issue. The injury took him out of the running for a spot on the Opening Day roster for the big club, and the 34-year-old will likely have to wait for an injury to either Yan Gomes or Alex Avila before he receives consideration for a call-up.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Sent to minor-league camp
Rotowire
Castillo (shoulder) was assigned to minor-league camp Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Castillo was merely in camp as a non-roster invitee, making him always a long shot to open the season in the big leagues. He's been dealing with a shoulder issue all spring and hasn't gotten into a single spring training game, eliminating whatever slim chance he had of making the Opening Day roster.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Sidelined with shoulder issue
Rotowire
Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday that Castillo has been battling a shoulder injury since the start of camp, but the catcher has since been cleared to resume a throwing program, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Castillo has yet to play in any of the Nationals' Grapefruit League games thus far because of the injury, but with Martinez noting that the 33-year-old is in the process of building up to game speed, his spring debut could be imminent. Yan Gomes and Alex Avila will head into Opening Day as the Nationals' clear top two catchers, so Castillo is realistically battling Tres Barrera for the No. 3 spot on the depth chart, if the team elects to break camp with three backstops.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Returns to Nationals
Rotowire
Castillo signed a one-year minor-league deal with the Nationals on Monday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Castillo will earn $950,000 if he makes the big-league roster. The veteran backstop signed a similar deal with the Nationals last offseason but wound up opting out of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He owns a respectable .254/.313/.426 slash line over his decade-long big-league career but may not be suited for anything other than backup duties at this point, as his .209/.267/.417 line for the White Sox in 2019 suggests.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Moves to restricted list
Rotowire
The Nationals placed Castillo (opt out) on the restricted list July 4.
Washington made the transaction official one day after manager Dave Martinez told the media that Castillo became the third player to sit out the 60-game season. Castillo joined the Nationals in January on a one-year deal, so he'll head to the open market at the conclusion of the 2020 campaign.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Sitting out 2020
Rotowire
Manager Dave Martinez announced Friday that Castillo has opted out of the 2020 season, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Castillo is the third Nationals player to elect to sit out, joining Ryan Zimmerman and Joe Ross. Castillo was a non-roster invitee but had a decent chance of making the expanded Opening Day roster as the team's third catcher before choosing to forego the season.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Back behind plate
Rotowire
Castillo (shoulder) is in the lineup for Saturday's split-squad game against the Marlins, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Castillo did not start a game between Feb. 28 and Friday, but he served as the DH in that game and is ready to get back behind the plate Saturday, so it appears he has put his shoulder injury behind him. He will continue his pursuit of a roster spot, but he faces an uphill battle with Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes ahead of him.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Dealing with sore shoulder
Rotowire
Castillo is dealing with a sore right shoulder, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.
Castillo was supposed to serve as the designated hitter for Saturday's game and catch Sunday, but his sore shoulder is limiting his availability. The exact severity of the injury is unclear, but it appears that the 32-year-old could be sidelined for the first few games of spring training.
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Nationals' Welington Castillo: Signs minors deal with Nationals
Rotowire
Castillo signed with the Nationals as a non-roster invitee Friday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
The 10-year veteran was largely unimpressive in 72 games for the White Sox last season, hitting .209/.267/.417 with 12 homers. His career 98 wRC+ is perfectly respectable for a catcher, though it likely doesn't reflect his current talent level heading into his age-33 season. The Nationals appear to be set at the catcher position with Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes both returning, so Castillo might wind up as nothing more than injury insurance.
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Welington Castillo: Becomes free agent
Rotowire
Castillo was traded Thursday to the Rangers, who will decline his club option for 2020 and make him a free agent.
The 32-year-old struggled to find consistent playing time in 2019, hitting just .209/.267/.684 over 72 games. Given Castillo's lofty price tag and limited production, the Rangers are expected to exercise the catcher's buyout, which would make him a free agent, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Enters midgame, homers
Rotowire
Castillo went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Indians.
Castillo padded the White Sox's lead with his seventh-inning home run. He entered midgame as the designated hitter after Matt Skole was removed due to abdominal tightness. His playing time has taken hit over the final month of the season as the White Sox take a look at rookie Zack Collins, who started at catcher Wednesday and has served regularly as the DH during September.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Crushes grand slam
Rotowire
Castillo went 1-for-5 with a homer and five RBI in Sunday's 11-10 loss to Seattle.
Castillo's fifth-inning grand slam gave the White Sox an 8-5 lead that would last until his bullpen's late-game meltdown. The 32-year-old catcher is up to 10 long balls with 35 RBI on the season.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Goes 3-for-5 with long ball
Rotowire
Castillo went 3-for-5 a home run, two doubles, three RBI and two runs in a 7-1 victory against the Indians on Thursday.
The 32-year-old is struggling to stay above the Mendoza Line, but he does have four homers in the last 16 games, including two in his most recent four contests. Castillo isn't hot enough in other categories, though, to make him usable in most leagues. He is batting .209 with nine home runs, 10 RBI and 16 runs in 201 at-bats this season.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Pops pinch-hit homer
Rotowire
Castillo hit a three-run homer as a pinch hitter in a 10-7 loss to Atlanta on Friday.
With the White Sox down 6-2 in the seventh inning, Castillo closed the gap to one by driving a Luke Jackson fastball over the fence in left field, but it was as close as Chicago would get. Castillo has started only three of the last 11 games, and while the veteran catcher does have eight homers in 59 games this season, his .648 OPS will likely keep him stuck to the bench on most nights.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Sitting Monday
Rotowire
Castillo is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Twins.
He'll be on the bench for a second straight game while Matt Skole occupies the designated-hitter spot and James McCann starts behind the dish. Skole remains Castillo's primary competition for a spot in the everyday lineup, as McCann has cracked the starting nine at either catcher or DH for seven straight contests.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Heads to bench
Rotowire
Castillo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
Castillo will head to the bench after pounding out five hits -- four for extra bases -- while starting each of the past four games at either catcher or designated hitter. James McCann will work behind the plate while Jose Abreu handles DH duties in the series finale.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Homers in loss
Rotowire
Castillo went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double in Thursday's 8-7 loss to the Angels.
Sparking a ninth-inning rally, Castillo turned the second pitch he saw into a home run off Hansel Robles to bring the White Sox within one. Unfortunately, the score would not come any closer as the Angels notched the win. It was Castillo's seventh long ball and eighth double over 52 games this season.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Extends hit streak
Rotowire
Castillo went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double, two RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 13-9 win over the Astros.
Castillo has hit in five straight starts, going 8-for-20 with a home run and five RBI. He served as the designated hitter against left-hander Wade Miley. Castillo had been getting regular work as the DH when not catching, but he appears to have taken a back seat to the the left-handed hitting Matt Skole, who has been the White Sox's primary DH since being called up earlier this month.
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White Sox's Welington Castillo: Losing work to Skole
Rotowire
Castillo is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.
On the bench for the fourth time in six games, Castillo appears to have fallen behind Matt Skole on the depth chart at designated hitter. Since returning in mid-July following a one-month stint on the injured list, Castillo is slashing .188/.216/.313 across 15 games.
