Five potential landing spots for Cubs’ Welington Castillo

The Chicago Cubs’ signing of free agent backstop David Ross to a two-year, $5 million deal, coupled with the trade for former Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero, has led many to speculate that the team could be ready to deal Welington Castillo, who has served as the team’s primary backstop for the last two seasons.

With the offseason already notably busier than in years past for several teams around the league, the list of potential destinations for Castilo is longer than it may have been any other year. With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at potential landing spots for the 27-year old who batted .237/.296/.389 last season, while also setting career-highs in home runs (13) and RBIs (46).

Here are five potential destinations for Castillo – with a little bit of information on where each club currently sits.

Sep 5, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; A view of the Texas Rangers logo before the game between the Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

4. Texas Rangers

Last season, the Rangers relied on the likes of J.P. Arencibia, Robinson Chirinos and Chris Gimenez behind the dish. As most folks know by this point, it was a forgettable season for the Rangers, a team that finished 67-95, a whopping 31 games behind the division champion Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and even three games behind the lowly Houston Astros.

Arencibia, 28, is far from being adequate offensively, batting .177/.239/.369 across 63 games with the Rangers last season. A former first-round pick, he has never managed to put things together at the plate at the big league level, with a career triple-slash line of .207/.255/.403, although he has managed to throw out runners at the league average level of roughly 26 percent.

The team’s other primary option, Chirinos, set a career-high in home runs last season, hitting 14 long balls while driving in 40 runs, but his .239 clip at the plate left much to be desired. The 30-year-old backstop excelled in terms of throwing out runners, catching 40 percent of would-be base stealers, while posting a 1.2 dWAR in 93 games. He appears to be the team’s likely starting catcher moving forward, and is under team control through the 2018 season.

Oct. 14, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks manager

in attendance of the game between the Surprise Saguaros against the Salt River Rafters during an Arizona Fall League game at Salt River Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

3. Arizona Diamondbacks

Following the Diamondbacks’ trade of Miguel Montero to the aforementioned Cubs, the team’s depth behind the dish was left decimated, to put things lightly. While several potential options, including Dioner Navarro, are available on the market, Chicago and Arizona could potentially swap backstops for 2015 – which is, at the very least, an intriguing concept.

Currently, Arizona has Tuffy Gosewich at catcher on the depth chart, and if you’re wondering who he is, you’re probably not alone. He has just 55 big league games under his belt, and is a career .239 Minor League hitter, which doesn’t exactly encourage one to believe he’s likely to become an offensive threat anytime soon.

The FanSided site dedicated to the Diamondbacks, Venom Strikes, recently pondered whether Castillo could be a fit moving forward, and, to say the least, voiced some concerns:

While Castillo’s power might translate well to Chase Field, he is just an average offensive bat. On top of that, he isn’t a very good defensive catcher either.

Castillo’s pitch framing weaknesses are well-documented at this point. That being said, with a career Minor Leaguer slated as the starting backstop, Arizona may be tempted to take a chance on the Cubs’ backstop.

April 20, 2013; Boston, MA USA; The Boston Strong logo on the center field wall during a game between the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

2. Boston Red Sox

Looking to follow up on their 2013 World Series championship, the Red Sox entered 2014 with high expectations. The team’s catching tandem was aged, to say the least, with A.J. Pierzynski and David Ross forming the tandem behind the plate on a daily basis. Aged was also a good work to describe the team’s season, which ended with a 71-91 record and one disappointment after another.

This year, the team has the likes of Christian Vasquez and Dan Butler slated as the catching duo, but neither have much experience to speak of. Vasquez has never appeared in even the high minors, let alone the big leagues. In 29 games last season with Low-A Vancouver, he appeared in 29 games, batting .160/.236/.185.

Butler made his big league debut in 2014 with Boston, appearing in seven games, batting .250/.368/.618. However, for most of the season, he played for Triple-A Pawtucket, posting a .667 OPS in 83 games. While he may be a backup option for Boston in 2015, he is, by all means, not starting material for a team looking to rebound from a terrible 2014 campaign.

Castillo to Boston could be more feasible because of the relationship between Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and the Red Sox organization. Offensively, he represents a clear-cut upgrade and given his multiple years of remaining team control, a decent return for Chicago is not out of the question.

Sep 10, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; An Oakland Athletics hat and glove rest on the steps of the dugout during the game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Twins won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

1. Oakland Athletics

Given how busy Oakland general manager Billy Beane has been this offseason, mentioning his club on this list is less than a shock. Couple that with the team’s lack of depth behind the dish and Oakland quickly becomes a very feasible destination for the Cubs’ backstop.

Following the trade of Derek Norris, the team heads into 2015 with John Jaso behind the dish. It’s not that Jaso isn’t a decent option behind the plate – in fact, of the aforementioned options for each of these five clubs, he’s one of the premier choices. Jaso added nine home runs to go along with a .240/.337/.430 slash-line, but was below-average defensively, as noted by his -0.4 dWAR.

Castillo would represent a relatively young, controllable option for Beane and the Athletics moving forward. He’s just one year removed from a solid year at the plate and could help replace some of the lost offensive output of Norris – although he is yet to reach that level of production in his young big league career.