Twins trade versatile Willi Castro to Cubs for prospects

The Chicago Cubs picked up some necessary pieces at the trade deadline on Thursday, but president of operations Jed Hoyer said they didn’t impact their starting staff the way that they hoped, citing high asking prices as a roadblock to a deal.

“From a starting pitching standpoint, it was a really tight market,” Hoyer said Thursday evening. “Very few rental starters. Of the marquee controllable starters none of them changed hands. We didn’t acquire them but no one else did either. We felt the asking price was something we couldn’t do to the future.”

The Cubs did acquire super utility man Willi Castro from the Minnesota Twins for two prospects on Thursday. They later landed lefty reliever Taylor Rogers in a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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In separate deals Wednesday, the Cubs added depth pieces in Mike Soroka and Andrew Kittredge.

While many high-end relievers switched hands, Chicago stayed out of that market.

“I think our biggest focus ultimately was not trading that kind of prospect capital in the bullpen,” Hoyer said. “Ultimately, our biggest focus — if we were going to do that — was going to be in the rotation.”

Hoyer was also asked about the rental market. He wouldn’t talk specifically about a single pitcher but indicated there wasn’t a match with another team — like the Arizona Diamondbacks for Merrill Kelly, who was traded to the Texas Rangers.

“We talked about every pitcher that was available,” Hoyer said. “I think sometimes you line up with certain teams and sometimes you don’t.”

So while the Cubs failed to go big for a starter or a reliever, at least Castro, 28, fills a need. He played six positions for Minnesota this season — seven if you count an inning on the mound — mostly splitting time equally at second, left and right field. Castro is likely to see time at third base for Chicago, especially when there is a tough righty on the mound, as he’ll split time there with rookie Matt Shaw.

“I think having a guy like that kind of protects us in a lot of spots,” Hoyer said of Castro. “He was a very obvious fit in that regard.”

To make room on the active roster, Ryan Pressly, who opened the season as the Cubs’ closer, was designated for assignment.

Castro is joining his third team after starting his career in Detroit then playing the last three seasons for the Twins. He’s a career .245 hitter with 55 home runs over his seven big league seasons. He’ll be a free agent at the end of this year.

In return, the Twins are getting Double-A pitchers Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong. Gallagher, 22, has a .386 ERA split between Single and Double-A this season while Armstrong has a 2.87 mark across several minor league levels. Neither is considered a top prospect in the Cubs system.

Meanwhile, Rogers, 34, appeared in 40 games for the Cincinnati Reds, compiling a 2.45 ERA, and giving up three home runs in 33 innings before he was traded to the Pirates on Wednesday and then the Cubs on Thursday. He’s a 10-year veteran who should get late inning opportunities for Chicago.

Pressly, 36, was 2-3 with a 4.35 ERA and 28 strikeouts in his first season with the Cubs. He spent the previous seven seasons with the Astros, taking over the closer role from 2021 to 2023, and has 117 career saves.

“I think we came in wanting to add three pitchers,” Hoyer said. “Obviously, there were moves that we worked on that didn’t come together.”