Welington Castillo trade market weaker after recent rumors

With position players reporting to camp this week, many believed that the Chicago Cubs’ plethora of backstops would have been addressed by this point. Since the team traded for Miguel Montero and signed David Ross, it appeared Welington Castillo was destined to be the odd-man-out; but with time, the market for his services may have weakened – through no fault of his own.

On Tuesday, former Cubs and current Toronto Blue Jays backstop Dioner Navarro, who is slotted in behind free agent acquisition Russell Martin up north, reiterated that he’s seeking a trade for a better opportunity moving forward.

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Reports indicate that Navarro has been seeking a trade since Martin was signed in November for five years and $82 million – and with a limited number of suitors throughout Major League Baseball, the market for the Cubs’ Castillo could be deeply impacted.

"“I asked for a trade right away, and up to today that’s still my goal. I would like to go a place where I can play everyday. I signed a two-year deal here to catch every day, and unfortunately they felt like they needed to make a move. I was kind of frustrated throughout the whole offseason, a little disappointed that nothing has happened yet.”Last season, the hefty backstop batted .274/.317/.395 for the Jays, appearing in all but roughly two dozen games – posting a 2.3 WAR for the second consecutive season. The year prior, he spent in Chicago, putting together a .300 batting average for the first time in his big league career.Castillo, meanwhile, is almost half a decade younger than Navarro – and is under team control through the 2017 campaign. Last year in Chicago, the backstop took a step backwards in some regards from a breakout 2013, batting just .237/.296/.389 while establishing new career-highs in both home runs (13) and runs batted in (46).Navarro is slated to make just $4 million in 2015 – the final year of a two-year, $8 million contract, while Castillo is arbitration eligible moving forward (he makes $2.1 million in 2015). So numbers are a bit different, but each brings a different set of skills to the table for any organization.David Ross, who was brought in to be the personal catcher for left-handed ace Jon Lester and to provide veteran leadership, will likely be the team’s back-up in 2015 – despite his struggles offensively in recent years. Montego, meanwhile, has a well-documented history of success, although he hasn’t been as potent since the 2012 season, when he narrowly missed driving in 90 runs for Arizona.Welington Castillo was once regarded as a potential major piece for the organization’s future, but with the trade that brought Montero to the Windy City in the books (which keeps the former Diamondbacks’ backstop in Chicago through 2017, as well) – it appears Castillo is likely headed elsewhere.The only question now is when.Next: Travis Wood not reading too much into trade rumors “I asked for a trade right away, and up to today that’s still my goal. I would like to go a place where I can play everyday. I signed a two-year deal here to catch every day, and unfortunately they felt like they needed to make a move. I was kind of frustrated throughout the whole offseason, a little disappointed that nothing has happened yet.”"