It took Day 3 of the 2025 JLB Winter Meetings to flush out the deals, and even though they didn't have the weight of some of the deals we've seen in prior Winter Meetings, they still provided a little excitement to a rather lackluster start to the 2025 JLB season.
The Nutz were the biggest mover on Wednesday acquiring both Castillo and Keller to bolster his rotation.
Castillo and Keller both went 11-12 last year and combined for 341 strikeouts. Castillo's ERA was still at a nice level, 3.64, while Keller's ballooned to 4.25 after a strong start to the season. In any case, both provide what the Nutz needed — innings and numbers.
His deal with the Slammers to get Keller only cost Nolan Jones and a ninth-round pick (of course!) so it wasn't all that costly to make the deal. Jones had a horrible sophomore slump, marred with injuries and inconsistent play. But he is a year removed from hitting .300 with 20 homers, 62 RBIs and 60 runs scored in just 106 games.
If truly healthy and back to his rookie form, this could work out really nice for the Slammers.
Breakfast went the other direction in sending Castillo as he brought back a more established bat in Marcus Semien. The 2024 season wasn't his best, as he batted just .237, but he did still hit 23 homers and drive in 74 and score 101 runs. Sam is likely looking at a similar outlook as the Slammers — Semien batted .276 with 29 homers, 100 RBIs and 122 runs scored in 2023. A return to form would turn this into a massive return.
In either case, both players were acquired for pitchers who could not possibly stay on roster into the March draft, so deals like these always involve a bit of hope vs. value.
Nutz also got Tyler O'Neill back in the deal, which could provide some more pop in LF than Jones, as the new Orioles OF gets to see the fences come in a tad. He hit 31 homers last season, so one would think he could easily approach that again.
Choo's deal was different in that López was clearly a keeper and he wasn't trading an extra pitcher. Thus, the value in return was there for the righty Twins starter who went 15-10 with a 4.08 ERA and 198 Ks. He was able to nab Josh Naylor, who is coming off a career season with 31 homers and 108 RBIs. Entering his age 28 season, this is a pretty good swap for Choo who clearly lacks homers. He only hit 255 last year during the JLB regular season.
The Tots lose the pop at 1B, but the need for an ace in the land of Taters was paramount this offseason. He knew he had to get one, and he knew the cost, and with Vinnie Pasquantino at 1B, he had the flexibility to make this move.
Besides, with guys like Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad, the power replacement could be in house.
I'm just really upset that with Mayo on roster, he didn't work Burger in as a throw-in. Burger and Tots with Mayo? Come on, that's a good order.
Now he just needs to target:
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