The Twins have agreed to a minor league contract with utilityman Willi Castro, who played the past four seasons with the Detroit Tigers.
Ex-Tigers utilityman Willi Castro gets minor league deal from Twins
Danny Coulombe, who pitched for the Twins last season, is also headed to training camp.
December 30, 2022 at 11:20PM
The contract comes with an invitation to major league camp. Castro changed his status on his Instagram account to reflect he now plays for the Twins.
Danny Coulombe, who has pitched for the Twins for the past three seasons, will get a minor league deal as well. The 33-year-old lefthander was having a strong 2022 — a 1.46 ERA in 10 appearances spanning 12 ⅓ innings — before season-ending labrum surgery in July.
A 25-year-old from Puerto Rico, Castro played all three outfield positions, third base, shortstop and second last season with the Tigers. He appeared in 112 games and hit .241 with eight home runs after being recalled early in the season from Class AAA Toledo.
Over four big-league seasons and 1,007 at-bats, Castro has a .245 average and .651 OPS. Originally signed by Cleveland in 2013, he was traded to Detroit in 2018. He became a free agent when the Tigers failed to tender him a contract last month.
Castro made his major league debut in August 2019, going 2-for-4 against the Twins. He won't count on the team's 40-man roster unless he makes the major league roster out of spring training.
Gerrit Cole gave up his opt-out right on Monday and will remain with the New York Yankees under a contract that runs through 2028 rather than become a free agent.
