Welington Castillo returns to team, feels ready to start the season

SARASOTA, Fla. - New Orioles catcher Welington Castillo rejoined the team today from the World Baseball Classic. He pretty much has pronounced himself ready to start the season and said manager Buck Showalter agrees.

Castillo caught many innings over six high-level games, giving him a much different experience than he'd get in a normal spring training. He said it left him feeling ready to go.

"Honestly, I think so. Pretty good, competitive games," Castillo said this afternoon. "Everyone is competing because you are representing your country. Everything you give out there makes you ready for the season.

"He (Showalter) told me, 'You are ready to play already. We are just going to play you the least that we can.' Just depends on who is going to pitch to get involved with pitchers in the starting rotation. But I'm ready and happy to be here. Want to spend some time with my teammates in here and pull everything together for the season to go out and win."

Castillo is expected to catch in minor league games Friday at Twin Lakes Park when Kevin Gausman and Dylan Bundy both pitch there.

Before he left the team, Castillo was in the midst of a crash course in getting to know some of the new pitchers he will be working with this season. He said he feels like he left the club comfortable in his knowledge of the Orioles staff, and that he's confident they will be in sync when the regular season begins.

"I think I have a really good idea on everybody here," Castillo said. "Even if I hadn't caught them a lot. It's not going to take a long time to figure it out. I feel like I'm in good shape with the pitching staff, but every day you learn something new from them. So every day is important to spend time with them."

But it has been a very different spring for the 29-year-old Castillo. He hit .182/.250/.409 (4-for-22) in the WBC, but he did hit a homer and drive in five runs in the Dominican Republic's first three games. He also threw out three of six runners trying to steal second base.

"It was a little bit hard," he said. "Out there, you are just looking to win and don't want to come out of the game. Spring training, you catch five, six or seven innings. Out there, you go all nine and if there are extra innings, you have to go. But I feel ready for the season and I feel like I'm in good shape."

When he spoke with reporters before tonight's game, Showalter said he might try to get Castillo in this game specifically to catch Brad Brach and Zach Britton. But it sounds like that plan has changed.

"He told me ... it could be in the fifth or sixth inning," Castillo added. "But he said, 'It is not going to matter if you don't catch because you will see them a lot the next couple of days.' I decided not to play today. I told him I am good to start. But he said, 'Yeah, I know you are ready.'"

So he's back with the Orioles after the Dominicans could not complete a successful defense of their 2013 WBC championship. A baseball-crazy country that loves its players this time did not get see the Dominican team take home a championship. The 6-3 loss to the United States on Saturday night eliminated them at San Diego's Petco Park.

"I feel like we didn't have any pressure because we went there and gave everything we had each game," Castillo said. "We played with passion and heart and we gave everything we had. I walk out with my head up because I gave everything I've got. My teammates did, too. We didn't win but we gave everything out there."