Houston Rumors: Jason Castro would provide needed catching depth

The Houston Astros are reportedly in serious talks with old friend Jason Castro, who would provide much-needed veteran depth.

Jason Castro, the former Astros catcher for six seasons, is in serious talks to come back to Houston, according to a report by MLB reporter Mark Feinsand via Twitter.

While his numbers may not be eye popping, he would be a good backup for Houston Astros starting catcher Martin Maldonado. My colleague Andrew Gleisner had this to say about Castro as a backup catcher

What helps is that Castro is a lefthanded hitter who has a .749 career OPS against righties as opposed to .553 against lefties. He wouldn’t start against every righthanded pitcher, obviously, but he can take some of those starts from Maldonado and should do just fine. This might be the ideal pairing for Houston.

I have to agree with Andrew because I think Castro could help the team by giving Maldonado a break every now and then while still being a productive catcher both offensively and defensively. He wouldn’t command a high salary, which would help save the Astros money in order to use it somewhere else. I would like to see him back in an Astros uniform, and seeing him play with the Angels, Twins and Padres didn’t feel right to me as an Astros fan.

My favorite memory of Castro was actually at a game we left early because my wife had to work early the next morning. We decided to listen to the game on the radio on the way home. By the time we had reached home, Castro hit a game winning home run! Needless to say, I informed my wife that was why I never liked to leave a game early. I don’t think we’ve left a game early since.

I think Castro would be a solid inexpensive option for this young Astros team even if it’s on a one or two-year contract.