Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette isn't normally known for being terribly proactive during the offseason, but he moved so quickly to sign nontender free-agent catcher Welington Castillo that bringing back Matt Wieters obviously was not a serious consideration.
Instead, Wieters sat on the market all winter and, according to multiple reports, just agreed to a two-year contract with the Washington Nationals worth $21 million, which also reportedly includes an opt-out clause after the 2017 season and substantial deferred money.
Wieters made $15.8 million last year after surprising the Orioles by accepting their qualifying offer. This year, the Orioles could not afford to wait around to see what the market would bear, so Duquette got Castillo for a song and made it clear he was looking no further for major league help behind the plate.
Draw your own conclusions. Wieters was a big favorite of manager Buck Showalter, but Duquette clearly felt that Castillo was a suitable substitute at a time (mid-December) when the price for Wieters still figured to be much, much higher. It was a decisive move, similar to the acquisition of slugger Mark Trumbo last winter in anticipation of losing first baseman Chris Davis.
Of course, Davis came back anyway, but club sources repeatedly rebuffed any speculation that the Orioles might bring Wieters back to share time with Castillo if the price fell far enough.
It's not as if Wieters ended up being thrown into exile. He's joining one of the National League's top World Series contenders and will be catching a terrific pitching staff.
The Nationals always were thought to be on agent Scott Boras' dance card, even though they already had acquired veteran catcher Derek Norris this winter and also have major league-ready backups Jose Lobaton and Pedro Severino.
The deal seemed to lend some credence to speculation that Boras might take advantage of his good relationship with Nats ownership to find a landing spot for Wieters if he failed to get him an acceptable long-term deal elsewhere.
Pitchers and catchers reported for duty on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017. The Orioles begin the 2017 season at home against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 3.
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