Castillo declines option for 2018 (updated with quote)

Catcher Welington Castillo severed his ties to the Orioles today, as expected, by declining the $7 million player option on his contract.

They could reconnect later this winter, with both sides leaving the door open, but it's unlikely to happen.

Today was the deadline for Castillo to inform the club, which I'm told he still hadn't done this morning. It seemed to be a formality.

Castillo immediately becomes one of the top catchers on the free agent market, rivaled only by Jonathan Lucroy and Alex Avila. MLBTradeRumors.com projects that Castillo will sign a two-year, $14 million deal with the Athletics.

In his first season with the Orioles, Castillo posted a .282 average that led American League catchers and ranked second in the majors. His 20 home runs were fourth in the league and sixth in the majors (minimum 330 at-bats). And he threw out 49 percent of runners attempting to steal.

Castillo hit .313/.356/.592 with 12 of his 20 home runs following the All-Star break, reducing the odds that he'd return to the Orioles for $7 million.

The Orioles are prepared to hand the catching duties to Caleb Joseph and Chance Sisco. Executive vice president Dan Duquette signed Castillo for $6 million this season while Sisco gained more experience in the minors, his major league debut coming in September.

Duquette figures to pursue a veteran catcher to possibly compete for a job and at least provide some insurance at Triple-A Norfolk. Francisco Peña is a minor league free agent who was outrighted three times this year.

Update: Duquette sent out a text message that read: "Welington Castillo did a nice job for the Orioles in 2017 and had one of his best offensive years and threw out almost half of the basestealers, so it's no surprise he chose free agency. The Orioles appreciate Castillo's good work and wish him well in the future."