Detroit Tigers rumors: Catcher Jason Castro a left-handed bat to consider

The Detroit Tigers are working through the offseason rumors now indicate that Jason Castro is being pursued by the organization. The Tigers are in need of a catcher for the 2021 season who can eat up some innings alongside the current stock of catchers.

Earlier this offseason, the Detroit Tigers added catcher Dustin Garneau on a one-year, $1 million minor league contract with the Toledo Mud Hens. Garneau’s addition is a nice depth add but the Tigers still need to add some depth to the big league roster.

In 2020, the Tigers drafted Dillon Dingler with their second-round draft choice who is primed to be an exciting prospect to watch. But he is far from the big leagues, Jake Rogers is the next likely option to get a call-up as a prospect.

But, to split time with Grayson Greiner in the big leagues, the Tigers need to sign someone who has big-league catching experience. Greiner has not been great and signing a veteran is going to be important for their offseason.

The Detroit Tigers have been rumored to be targeting catcher Jason Castro.

Jason Castro, a 33-year old catcher who is a 10-year big league veteran, might be the Tigers’ next backstop. This would be another move by new manager A.J. Hinch to bring in one of his former players from his days with Houston.

Castro is a Stanford University Baseball alumni member as is Hinch so there is definitely some connection between the two. Adding Castro would help the organization’s catching situation far more than it would hurt it.

While Castro is not a top-tier catcher, he certainly brings veteran experience and is more than serviceable as a big-league backstop. In 2020 Castro would log 27 games, 18 with the Los Angeles Angels and nine with the San Diego Padres where he finished the season.

Castro’s 27-game 2020 season saw him hit .188/.293/.375 with two home runs and nine RBI for the Angels and Padres. Before that, Castro had spent three years with the Minnesota Twins where he was all over the map from playing 79 games in 2019, 19 in 2018, and 110 in 2017.

The bottom line is, Castro would be a boost for the Tigers at the catcher. He is a left-handed hitter which fits well since the Tigers are looking to add another left-handed bat to the lineup. However, Castro is not the only left-handed catcher out on the market who has connections to the organization.

Alex Avila is also on the market, and with his father being the general manager of the Tigers, there’s definitely a reason to believe he is at least in the conversation. Both Avila and Castro are going to be relatively cheap and inexpensive options, the question will be which of the two, if either, ends up at 2021 Spring Training.

With rumors swirling, keep an eye on the Detroit Tigers to grab another catcher for the big league roster.