The O's could be closing in on a catcher (plus other notes)

When asked about free agent catcher Welington Castillo on Wednesday at the Winter Meetings, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said, "That's a good name."

Welington is a good name, but Showalter didn't mean that. He meant the Orioles had some interest in the catcher that was non-tendered by Arizona. At least that is the way I took it. And I haven't been wrong since earlier this morning.

The Orioles have been talking about finding a catcher to pair with Caleb Joseph for the 2017 season as they bridge the gap to prospect Chance Sisco.

The Orioles may be closing in on a deal with Castillo, the 29-year-old right-handed hitter. This story said as much earlier this week.

Due to earn about $5.9 million through arbitration, the non-tender move made Castillo a free agent and opened the door for him to sign with any team. Tampa Bay was reported to be in hot pursuit but the Rays instead signed Wilson Ramos.

In 113 games last year, Castillo hit .264/.322/.423 with 24 doubles, 14 homers, 68 RBIs and a .745 OPS. Castillo posted career highs in hits, doubles and RBIs.

While some pitch-framing metrics have rated him poorly, Castillo did rank tied for third in the majors with seven Defensive Runs Saved. That was behind Buster Posey (12) and Salvador Perez (11). Castillo threw out 37.5 percent of attempted base stealers, behind only Jonathan Lucroy (40 percent) in the National League.

When I interviewed ESPN's Keith Law on Wednesday at the Winter Meetings, he said he thought Castillo could be a good choice for the Orioles.

"I like him," Law said. "He's a good hitter for a catcher. His framing numbers are fair. They're not terrible. He got painted as being terrible when he got non-tendered by Arizona. I don't think that's fair. As a one-year stopgap for them while they wait for Sisco - assuming that is the long-term plan - I'd be fine with that."

Law also pointed out that Castillo could even get a two- or three-year deal. If the Orioles signed Castillo to a deal longer than a year, and Sisco is ready sooner than expected, the Orioles could simply look to trade Castillo to make roster room.

You can't get secrets out of him: Former Oriole Brady Anderson has now completed four seasons as the club's vice president of baseball operations. He's proven to be a strong asset to the franchise. But don't expect him to let out any secrets. The rumor-fest that was the Winter Meetings is probably not his favorite time of year.

"I like to keep things low key," Anderson said Wednesday at National Harbor. "I like to do things out of the media. I know there are a lot of leaks and that's sort of the media's job, to get as much information as possible. But that's not the way that I operate and don't want do. So this is probably why this is the first time you've seen me."

Anderson is a rare front office executive that is equally comfortable on the field with O's players, in the boardroom with Dan Duquette or in the dugout pregame with Showalter. He enjoys all aspects of his current job.

"I do. I've loved this since the moment I got here. I love being a part of the Oriole organization and helping any way I can," he said.

Winter ball numbers: Orioles outfielder Dariel Alvarez, a member of the 40-man roster, is having a solid winter ball season in Venezuela. In 45 games, Alvarez is batting .322/.332/.461 with 11 doubles, a triple, four homers and 30 RBIs. Alvarez has 180 at-bats and has walked just four times with 20 strikeouts.

Aneury Tavarez, the 24-year-old outfielder the club added Thursday in the Rule 5 draft, is playing in the Dominican Republic. Over 35 games, he is batting .302/.359/.405 with three doubles, three homers and 11 RBIs. He is 5-for-6 stealing bases and has served mostly as a leadoff hitter, batting .340 when leading off an inning. Tavarez has more at-bats as a designated hitter than he does playing the outfield in the Dominican.

Lefty pitcher Brian Moran, drafted by the Orioles in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft, is playing in Puerto Rico. The nephew of former Oriole B.J. Surhoff is 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 12 games. In 12 2/3 innings, he has allowed eight hits and four runs with six walks, 14 strikeouts and a .178 batting average against.