D-backs add veteran Punto; Navarro, Castillo possible catching targets
PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks on Wednesday agreed on a minor league deal with veteran infielder Nick Punto, a deal expected to include a spring training invitation and further deepen the middle infield.
At the same time, the D-backs continue to survey the catching market after trading Miguel Montero and could find a match in Toronto's Dioner Navarro or the Cubs' Welington Castillo, according to industry sources.
Navarro is an intriguing possibility. He hit .274 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI in 139 games as the Blue Jays' starter last season but lost his job when the Jays signed free agent Russell Martin to a five-year, $82 million deal this winter.
Navarro is in the final year of a two-year contract that will pay him $5 million in 2015. The D-backs appear to have enough wiggle room in their payroll to make that fit. It is uncertain if the teams have the pieces to make a deal work, however.
With Montero gone, Tuffy Gosewisch and Rule 5 selection Oscar Hernandez are the two catchers on the 40-man roster.
Navarro, 31 in February, spent a few hours with the D-backs in 2005, when he was acquired in the Jan. 11 deal that sent Randy Johnson to the New York Yankees for principals Javier Vazquez and Brad Halsey. The D-backs flipped Navarro to the Dodgers the same say in a package with two other minor leaguers for outfielder Shawn Green.
Navarro is a career .255 hitter with 66 homers in 11 major league seasons. He's thrown out 28 percent of potential base-stealers, right at league average.
Castillo has 21 home runs and 60 RBI as the Cubs' primary catcher the last two seasons, but he appears to be available because the Cubs' acquired Montero in a deal and also signed free agent and Jon Lester favorite David Ross as a backup. Castillo is in his first year of arbitration eligibility this winter.
Even after trading Didi Gregorius, the D-backs are deep in the middle infield with Chris Owings, Nick Ahmed, Aaron Hill and Cliff Pennington, but Punto provides an extra layer of protection in the event of a trade or if the D-backs decided Ahmed would be better served to open the 2015 season in the minor leagues.
Owings is expected to start, likely at second base, but if Aaron Hill takes that spot Owings could move to shortstop, where he has spent most of his minor league career.
Punto, 37, has played for six teams in his 14 major league seasons and spent last season in Oakland, where D-backs manager Chip Hale was the bench coach. Punto hit .207 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 73 games with the A's last season, where he played primarily second base. He has started 299 games at second base, 282 at shortstop and 273 at third base during a career spent largely in Minnesota but that also included stops in St. Louis, Boston and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Because of a 2015 option that vested because of his tome on the A's roster last season, Punto is to be paid $2.75 million this season. The D-backs will pay none of that.
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