Pirates Linked To Former All-Star, Promising Infielder

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said on Sunday that the team “would expect” to add to their infield in the upcoming offseason.

Pirates beat writer Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentioned two names on Thursday who the team could target this winter.

“If we’re talking realistic options, a guy I really like is Willi Castro. He’s a switch hitter and plays plus defense at multiple positions. He doesn’t fix the power problem in this lineup, but he’s a consistent hitter who would be an upgrade at either spot on the left side of the infield. I’d sign him to play shortstop until Konnor Griffin arrives and then move him to the weakest area in the lineup after,” Hiles wrote. “His price tag shouldn’t be incredibly high. He also has playoff experience and would be a good mentor for some of the Latin American players, most notably Oneil Cruz. All of those reasons make him a perfect multiyear deal candidate for this club.”

Willi Castro spent the first four seasons of his career with the Detroit Tigers from 2019 to 2022 and finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting during the 2020 pandemic-shortened campaign. Castro then signed with the Minnesota Twins in December 2022 and played two-plus seasons with the club before being sent to the Chicago Cubs at this year’s trade deadline.

The 28-year-old made his first All-Star team last year and set career-highs in home runs (12), RBIs (60), runs scored (89), hits (138), doubles (31) and walks (51), among other categories. Castro enters Thursday with 10 home runs, 27 RBIs and a .240/.324/.395 slash line across 329 at-bats during the 2025 season.

Hiles also tabbed Baltimore Orioles corner infielder Coby Mayo as a possible target.

“As far as trades are concerned, if we’re talking infielders, a name I will throw out again is Coby Mayo. He’s incredibly raw, but I think there is a lot of long-term value there due to his power tool,” he wrote.

The Orioles selected Mayo in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft and he made his big-league debut in August 2024. He went just 4-for-41 across 17 games last season and has struggled to get going in 2025 as well.

Mayo enters Thursday with four home runs, 18 RBIs and a .213/.287/.360 slash line across 136 at-bats covering 47 contests this year.

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