WILLI CASTRO NEWS

Hits two homers Saturday Castro went 2-for-4 with two homers, three RBI, three runs scored and a steal in Saturday's victory over the Blue Jays.

Impact Castro has gone from an afterthought on the Minnesota roster (he barely made the major league roster as a spring non-roster invitee) to an important fill-in and fantasy producer. Castro has four home runs and eight steals in 40 games. His success may be fueled by a high .339 BABIP, but he's a viable option for deeper formats while hot and playing nearly everyday amid several injuries in the Minnesota lineup. He does have a 95th percentile Max Exit Velocity, according to BaseballSavant.com, so there's some reason to believe in his recent power.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Willi Castro homers twice to propel Twins past Blue Jays Willi Castro belted two home runs and had three RBIs as the Minnesota Twins held on to post a 9-7 win over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on...

MAY 27, 2023 • KANSASCITY.COM

Willi Castro homers twice to propel Twins past Blue Jays Willi Castro belted two home runs and had three RBIs as the Minnesota Twins held on to post a 9-7 win over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays on...

MAY 27, 2023 • DEADSPIN.COM

Castro hits 2 of Minnesota's 4 home runs in 9-7 win over Toronto

Willi Castro had his first career multi-homer game, Matt Wallner homered amongst his career-high four hits, and the Minnesota Twins held off the Toronto Blue Jays 9-7 on Saturday

MAY 27, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Edouard Julien, Willi Castro provide spark as Joe Ryan, Twins return to win column Castro to provide the Twins with their first steal of home plate since Aug. 3, 2013.

MAY 24, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Nabs eighth straight start Castro will start in left field and bat sixth Wednesday against the Giants.

Impact Castro continues to be one of the main beneficiaries of the Twins' onslaught of injuries, as the versatile utility man will pick up his eighth consecutive start Wednesday at his fifth different position. Over the previous seven games, Castro has gone 8-for-28 (.286 average) with a home run, three RBI and three stolen bases, though he's failed to draw a walk over that stretch and is striking out at a 37.9 percent clip.

MAY 24, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Hits second homer of year Castro went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Angels.

Impact Castro smacked a 412-foot shot to left in the seventh inning, giving the Twins a 4-3 lead. The outfielder is now on a four-game hit streak, and also has hits in six of his last seven games. This is a welcome sight for fantasy managers, as the former Tiger had just a .176 batting average in the month of April.

MAY 20, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Swipes another bag Castro went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a steal in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers.

Impact Castro has three steals in his last two games as he improves to 5-for-7 on stolen base attempts this season. While Castro hasn't been starting regularly for Minnesota, he's received a fair amount of at-bats while filling a utility role. Castro is slashing .219/.296/.328 with a home run, 10 runs scored and five RBI through 71 plate appearances.

MAY 18, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Two steals in win Castro went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a pair of stolen bases in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Dodgers.

Impact Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters last week that Castro would share time with Kyle Farmer at third base, but that hasn't happened yet. Tuesday was Castro's third start in the last seven games, and he's been limited to filling in as a corner outfielder. He earned his third multi-hit effort of the season in this contest. He's slashing just .217/.299/.333 with four steals, one home run, five RBI and nine runs scored through 67 plate appearances as a utility man this season.

MAY 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

To share time at third base Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Wednesday that Castro and Kyle Farmer will share time at third base following Jose Miranda's demotion, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Impact Farmer is starting at the hot corner and batting sixth Wednesday night against the Padres and right-hander Seth Lugo. Castro is a switch-hitter who has generally been more effective versus lefties than righties. This figures to play out as a platoon situation while Miranda attempts to find a groove at Triple-A St. Paul.

MAY 10, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Steals first base of year Castro went 1-for-3 with an RBI single, a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Royals.

Impact Castro got involved during a seven-run third inning for the Twins with an RBI base hit to right. He wound up stealing second and came around to score to extend the lead to 8-0. It was his first hit since April 20 and his first solen base of the year. The 26-year-old has struggled to produce much in the early going of the season, slashing .176/.300/.324 with three extra base hits, four RBI, five runs and a 4:10 BB:K over 40 plate appearances.

MAY 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Willi Castro's eephus pitches impress Rocco Baldelli, so Twins infielder gets call to pitch Castro worked the eighth inning of a blowout loss to Boston.

APRIL 21, 2023 • STARTRIBUNE.COM

Hits first homer Thursday Castro went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's loss to the Red Sox.

Impact Castro scored the Twins' first run of the contest, doubling with two outs in the fifth inning before coming around to score on a Max Kepler hit. The 25-year-old utility man would then add a two-run homer, his first longball of the season, in the seventh off Tanner Houck. The switch-hitting Castro earned a role with Minnesota thanks to his positional versatility, though he doesn't offer much offensive upside. He's now slashing .217/.280/.435 with three RBI and four runs scored in 23 at-bats this season.

APRIL 20, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Handling keystone Castro is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Twins on Tuesday in Boston.

Impact Edouard Julien is getting a day off. Castro is just 2-for-17 at the plate so far this season but has made two straight starts versus lefties.

APRIL 18, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Twins beat White Sox 4-3 in 10 innings on throwing error

Hanser Alberto’s throwing error allowed the automatic runner to score from second base and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 in 10 innings

APRIL 12, 2023 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Handling left field Tuesday Castro is starting in left field and batting seventh for the Twins in Tuesday's game versus the Marlins.

Impact It's Castro's first start of the season and he gets to go up against reigning National League Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. Normal left field Trevor Larnach is sliding over to right to cover for Max Kepler (knee).

APRIL 4, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Makes Opening Day squad Castro is listed on the Twins' major-league roster ahead of Opening Day.

Impact With Alex Kirilloff (wrist) and Jorge Polanco (knee) headed for the injured list to start the season, Castro will fill the openings in Minnesota's 40-man and major-league rosters. The 25-year-old infielder had a great spring, slashing .250/.375/.575 across 48 plate appearances, but probably won't get much playing time and will likely return to Triple-A once Kirilloff and/or Polanco come off the IL.

MARCH 29, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Could make Opening Day roster Castro could make Minnesota's Opening Day roster if Alex Kirilloff (wrist) and Jorge Polanco (knee) are not ready for the start of the season, MLB.com reports. Castro is hitting ....

Impact The Twins may elect to keep both Donovan Solano and Castro on the roster initially with several infielders hurt and Jose Miranda having a sore throwing shoulder. Castro likely wouldn't get much playing time in such a scenario and would likely be the first player headed back to Triple-A when an infielder returned. However, Castro is making his best case to stay in the majors this spring.

MARCH 22, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Targeting Twins may pay off big time for Castro FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It came as a surprise to Willi Castro when the Tigers non-tendered him last offseason. But when it came time to decide w...

MARCH 21, 2023 • MLB.COM

Minor league deal with Twins Castro signed a minor-league contract with Minnesota on Friday that includes an invitation to major-league spring training, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Impact Castro is a utility player but started 80 games in the outfield for the Tigers last season. He had just a .651 OPS last season but has looked like an above-average bat for stretches (most notably a .931 OPS in 30 games in 2020). He'll compete for a utility role with the Twins and could have a shot at a big-league job, but Minnesota's roster will likely be in flux until spring training begins.

DECEMBER 31, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Non-tendered by Detroit The Tigers declined to tender Castro a contract for 2023.

Impact There was some buzz around Castro upon his arrival in 2019. While it didn't pan out with the Tigers, Castro is still only 25 years old and he showed flashes during the shortened 2020 season. Castro can play both middle infield spots and even got some run in center field last season.

NOVEMBER 19, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Working in offseason program The Tigers announced Tuesday that Castro (hamstring) is fully healthy and taking part in in his normal offseason program, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Impact Castro missed the end of the season after he landed on the injured list with a hamstring strain in late September. The 25-year-old appeared in 112 games in 2022 and had a .241/.284/.367 slash line with eight home runs, 31 RBI, 47 runs and nine stolen bases. He'll likely be competing for a utility role in spring training.

NOVEMBER 9, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers play in game 4 of series

The Seattle Mariners play the Detroit Tigers, leading the series 2-1

OCTOBER 5, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tigers take 3-game win streak into matchup with the Mariners

The Detroit Tigers are looking to continue a three-game win streak with a victory over the Seattle Mariners

OCTOBER 4, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mariners host the Tigers in the season opener

The Seattle Mariners host the Detroit Tigers in the season opener

OCTOBER 4, 2022 • ASSOCIATED PRESS