​The standout thing people notice first about Willi Castro, the baseball player, is his versatility. When asked in April how many gloves he owns, Castro replied, “I have plenty with me. I think I probably have, like, 10 of them right now, and I’ve got way more back at home. But I’ll be prepared. I’ll be prepared for anything.” It turns out those many gloves have seen action, because in his partial season with the Rockies, Castro has taken the field at six different positions. So far in 2026, the only roles he hasn’t appeared at in a game are right field, catcher, and pitcher. Across all the positions he’s played, his defensive metrics total -2 Defensive Runs Saved and -2 Outs Above Average for the season. While those numbers aren’t catastrophic, they do place him below the league average defensively.
If Castro were to prune his responsibilities to a single position, it’s possible his measurable defense could improve. But does that imply he’d become more valuable to the team by focusing on his primary position of second base? Warren Schaeffer doesn’t seem to think so. “It’s hard to put into words how helpful he’s been to this team,” Schaeffer said. “Just the ability to in-game make matchup moves to better our chances to win because you can put him somewhere else in the field defensively, and he’s a switch hitter, and what he actually does defensively and offensively, it’s been incredible.”
Castro’s willingness to move wherever the team asks has translated into a lot of position-shuffling. Schaeffer has had Castro change positions mid-game 37 times this season. Pinning down the exact value of that flexibility is tricky. It may not swing the win column in a measurable way, but it’s unlikely to be inconsequential either.
The eye test aligns with the defensive numbers: Castro’s fielding isn’t always smooth, no matter where he’s playing. Consider a play from June 7 against the Milwaukee Brewers when Castro was in left field. He takes a somewhat awkward route to the ball and hesitates at the warning track as he figures out how to play the wall. After pausing to plan, he bobbles the ball on the bounce, then recovers quickly to make a grab and a strong throw. In many cases, a more seasoned left fielder might arrive at the same end result, but with different mechanics along the way. It’s Castro’s athleticism and instinct that often compensate for the lack of consistent reps at a single position.
A different illustration came in a May 20 game against the Texas Rangers. What looks like it could be a routine play for a seasoned second baseman instead highlights Castro’s improvised approach to the position, a reminder that his versatility is both a strength and a challenge. In a sense, Castro’s value is less about perfecting a single skill and more about the team’s ability to pivot around him. His breadth of experience allows the Rockies to tailor matchups on the fly, leveraging his switch-hitting capability and his defensive coverage in unexpected ways.
In the end, Castro’s usefulness isn’t simply about hitting or fielding at one locale. It’s about his willingness to adapt, the strategic flexibility he provides to the coaching staff, and his overall contribution to the roster as a player who can be slotted into multiple roles as needed. Whether the Rockies lean more heavily on him in one position or continue to deploy him as a multi-positional asset, Castro’s value lies in his readiness to be deployed wherever he can best help the team win.