Washington Nationals 2016 Free Agent Target: Jason Castro
Should the Washington Nationals look to sign Jason Castro in free agency to be their new catcher in 2017?
Heading into the offseason, of the biggest needs for the Washington Nationals is finding a new catcher. With Wilson Ramos reportedly wanting a four-five year deal according to his agent (via Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post), it would be unlikely that the Nats would bring him back to D.C.
While Jason Castro might not be the biggest name out there in a weak free agent class, he could be another option for the Nats at the catcher position. This past season, Castro had a slash line of .210/.307/.377 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI’s in 113 games with the Houston Astros.
In 2013, Castro was selected to the American League All-Star Team as a reserve. During that season, he hit .276 with 18 home runs and 52 RBI’s to go with a .350 on-base percentage. Since that All-Star season, the 29-year-old has had his home run, RBI’s, and batting average either stay the same (56 RBI’s in 2013 and 214) or go down each of the last three years.
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Three years ago, Castro had the best WAR (4.5) of any catcher in the American League (according to ESPN). Fast forward to 2016 and his WAR of 0.9 was tied for 12th in the AL among catchers (ESPN). The former first round pick out of Stanford has not lived up to that draft position.
As for Castro’s defense, he has had issues when it comes to passed balls. His 12 passed balls were the third most in the AL in 2016. Plus, he has had 19 combined passed balls in each of the last two seasons.
Castro’s caught stealing percentage went down from 36% in 2015 to 24% in 2016 (Baseball Reference). Also, from a sabermetric perspective, Castro’s defense isn’t great either. According to Fangraphs, his defensive runs saved went down from four in 2015 to -2 in 2016.
With teams looking for an upgrade at catcher, I could see the Washington Nationals trying to buy low and hope that Castro returns to his All-Star form. After a down year from Castro, the Astros would probably not offer him the qualifying offer because of the decline of his offensive numbers.
If the Washington Nationals are looking for a catcher that can provide offense, then Castro isn’t their guy. Some better options to provide offense to the lineup would be signing Matt Wieters or trading for Brian McCann. Right now, I would rather see the Nats have Pedro Severino start behind the plate in 2017 than Castro.
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