Willi Castro is the type of player the Rockies were seeking when they began their rebuild under a new front office.
Castro, 29, is a veteran utility player who’s played primarily second base and shortstop, with spot duty at third base and in the outfield. He made the American League All-Star Team with Minnesota in 2024.
The Puerto Rican native is a switch-hitter who has shown the ability to get on base. He can provide a spark by stealing a base.
Thursday, the free agent and the Rockies agreed to terms on a two-year, $12.8 million contract, a source confirmed. The club has not officially announced the deal. ESPN first reported the deal.
The Rockies, coming off three consecutive 100-loss seasons, including a 119-loss season in 2025, need some experience in the infield. Colorado finished the season with rookies Kyle Karros at third base, Ryan Ritter at second base and Blaine Crim at first base.
Castro had a breakout with the Twins in 2023, who picked him up after he was non-tendered by the Tigers following the 2022 season. He signed a minor league deal with Minnesota but made the big-league roster and played in 124 games, slashing .257/.339./411, hitting nine home runs and stealing 33 bases in 38 attempts.
In 2024, he slashed .247/.331/.385, hit a career-high 12, drove in 60 runs and swiped 14 bases. He played every position except for catcher and first base. He pitched two emergency innings.
Castro was having a similar season in the first half of 2025, but was part of the Twins’ fire sale at the trade deadline and was dealt to the Cubs. He played sparingly for Chicago (34 games, 110 plate appearances) and hit just .170.
More moves coming? The Rockies officially signed right-hander Michael Lorenzen on Thursday. The deal will guarantee Lorenzen $8 million for 2026, with a club option for $9 million in 2027. To clear room on their 40-man roster, the Rockies designated right-hander Bradley Blalock for assignment.
The club might not be done reshaping its rotation, even after picking up right-hander Keegan Thompson off waivers from Cincinnati on Wednesday.
“We all need (pitchers), all 30 teams,” said Paul DePodesta, the new president of baseball operations. “We are all looking for arms, especially ones that are starting. That’s a quest we will always be on, to find additions we can make.
“There are also some position spots we would like to fill, and we have been having conversations about those as well.”
Coors Field alterations? The Rockies might look at changing the outfield dimensions at Coors Field at some point in the future. Emphasis on might.
But for now, the Rockies will not follow the path of the Kansas City Royals, who announced this week that they are moving the outfield fences inward at Kauffman Stadium. Kauffman and Coors feature the two biggest outfields in the majors.
“I think we need to explore everything,” DePodesta said. “But look, I don’t think we are far enough along in (many) areas to determine the right path to take.
“But we are logging all of the questions we want to answer, and that’s certainly one of them — to understand how (Coors Field) plays and how any change to the ballpark might impact that. But I think it’s probably too early to go down that road.”
At Kauffman, the left- and right-field walls will be moved in by 9 to 10 feet, starting close to the foul poles and tapering toward the center field wall, which will remain 410 feet from home plate. In most places in the outfield, the height of the fence will be shortened from 10 feet to 8½.
“There’s a lot of different things that go into it,” general manager J.J. Picollo told MLB.com. “During the course of the season, we just started doing some research, running some numbers and trying to figure out how much this really impacts our offense.
“Consequently, how would it affect our pitching staff? Ultimately, we concluded that we would be a better team offensively. With our current pitching staff, the changes in the dimensions wouldn’t impact (pitching) negatively as much as it impacts our offense positively.”
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