Starlin DeJesus Castro (born March 24, 1990) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

who is a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. Castro is a four-time

MLB All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

and holds the record for most

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

in an MLB debut. In 2011, he led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, becoming the youngest player to do so.

Professional career

Minor leagues

In 2009, Castro was named to the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

All-Star team, and won MVP honors, going 4-for-4 with an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score a ...

in the game. He was also named

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

for the World Team. After the season, Castro was named the best prospect in Chicago's organization by ''

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''.

Chicago Cubs

2010

Castro was called up to the majors on May 7, 2010, from the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

, the Cubs Double-A affiliate. He became the first major league player born in the 1990s. In his first major league at-bat, he hit a three-run

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

off

Homer Bailey David Dewitt "Homer" Bailey Jr. (born May 3, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds from 2007 through 2018, the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics in 2019 ...

of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He became the sixth player in Cubs history and 106th player overall to hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat. Later in the game he hit a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

with the

bases loaded B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the strike zone on the outside edge of the plate after seeming as if it would miss the p ...

, setting the record for most

(RBIs) in a major league debut with six. He finished the game two for five in the Cubs' 14–7 win. Castro finished the season with a .300/.347/.408 line with three home runs and 41 RBIs in 463 at-bats over 125 games. Despite his significant offensive contribution, Castro led the team and was second in the National League in errors with 27. On October 19, 2010, Castro was named the shortstop on ''Baseball Americas 2010 All-Rookie Team. He was also named the shortstop on the 2010

Topps The Topps Company, Inc. is an American company that manufactures chewing gum, candy, and collectibles. Formerly based in New York City, Topps is best known as a leading producer of American Football Card, American football, Baseball card, baseb ...

Major League Rookie All-Star Team. He finished tied for fifth in Rookie of the Year voting.

2011: All-Star season

2011 was Castro's first full season as an MLB player, and also marked his first

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

selection, as he was one of three shortstops selected to the National League All-Star team. Castro was the youngest Chicago Cub player to make an All-Star team. Castro stole two bases in the All-Star Game despite having only one plate appearance, tying him for the most stolen bases in a single All-Star Game. The same day, Castro received Edward Jones Player of the Month Award honors. Castro was the National League Player of the Week twice during the 2011 season. On September 23, 2011, Castro got his 200th base hit of the season, at

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

against the rival

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, and was the youngest member of the Cubs to ever do so. Castro was the youngest player to ever lead the National League in hits, achieving the feat with his 207th hit of the season on September 28, 2011. Castro's game jersey was sent to the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

, in a similar manner to his MLB debut's game jersey. His line for the 2011 season was .307/.341/.432, and it was the first season in which he hit double digit home runs (10). Overall, Castro finished the 2011 season with a .307 batting average, 10 home runs and 66 RBI. His 207 base hits and 674 at-bats both led the National League. On defense, he led all National League shortstops in assists, with 446, and all major league shortstops in errors, with 29. He also had the lowest fielding percentage for a shortstop (.961).

2012: All-Star season

Castro was selected to the National League All-Star team along with teammate

Bryan LaHair Bryan Allan LaHair (born November 5, 1982) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka ...

. Castro finished the 2012 season playing all 162 games with a .283 average, 14 homers, and 78 RBI. He was caught stealing 13 times which led the MLB. He also led the National League again with 646 at-bats and 465 assists as a shortstop. In August, Castro and the Cubs agreed to a contract extension through the 2019 season with a team option for 2020, with total guaranteed compensation of $60 million.

2013

Castro had his worst year ending with a career low batting average of .245. He hit 10

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and had 44 RBIs, nine steals, and 2

s while playing in 161 games.

2014: All-Star season

After a disappointing 2013, Castro was selected to appear in his third

All-Star game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

along with teammate

Anthony Rizzo Anthony Vincent Rizzo (born August 8, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. He is a three-time ...

in 2014. Unfortunately, Castro's All-Star year came to an early end when he was injured on September 2 when he awkwardly slid into home plate in a game against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. He did not return for the balance of the year and finished with a strong batting average of .292 with 14 home runs, 65 RBI's, 4 stolen bases, 33 doubles and 1 triple in 528 at bats. Castro was the top hitting shortstop (for batting average) in the National League ahead of the Dodgers'

Hanley Ramírez Hanley Ramírez (born December 23, 1983) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Florida / Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Indians. Ram� ...

. On defense, he had only 15 errors and a fielding percentage of .973.

2015

During a game on April 20, 2015, against the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

in Pittsburgh, Castro hit a ball that went foul behind home plate and struck a fan in her head. The game was delayed for 23 minutes until the fan was escorted on a stretcher and hospitalized due to a concussion. Come the trade deadline, there was much speculation of a trade involving Castro. Potential deals might have involved him going to the Phillies or the Padres. Amid the speculation, Castro was told by manager

Joe Maddon Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball. Maddon began his coaching career in ML ...

that he would not be traded. In August, Castro was benched by Cubs manager

due to poor performance, including a career low .236 batting average. With rookie

Addison Russell Addison Wayne Russell (born January 23, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Russell was drafted 11th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2012 Major League Baseb ...

taking over as the everyday shortstop, Castro made the switch to second base on August 12. On September 18, in an important game against the division leading Cardinals, Castro hit two home runs and matched his career high with six RBIs to lead the Cubs to an 8–3 win.

New York Yankees

On December 8, 2015, Castro was traded to the

in exchange for pitcher Adam Warren and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. On December 15, 2015, Brendan Ryan was also traded to the Cubs to finalize the transaction. On April 6, 2016, Castro had 5 RBI in a win over the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, and he broke the franchise record for most RBI in the first two career games with the Yankees with 7, and the fourth player to get 7 RBI in the first two games in a season. On April 9, Castro recorded his 1000th career hit, in a win over the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. On June 22, Castro hit his first ever walk-off home run in a 9–8 win over the Rockies. Castro finished the season with a .270 batting average and a career high 21 home runs and 70 RBI. On April 28, 2017, Castro hit a game tying 2-run home run in the 9th inning of an eventual 14–11 Yankees comeback win against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. On June 27, he was placed on the 10-day disabled list due to a hamstring injury. On July 22, he was again placed on the 10-day disabled list due to the same hamstring problem. Castro finished 2017 with a .300 batting average with 16 home runs and 63 RBI in 112 games played.

Miami Marlins

On December 11, 2017, Castro was traded to the

(along with Jorge Guzmán and

José Devers José Rodolfo Devers (born December 7, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop in the Miami Marlins organization. Career New York Yankees Devers was signed as an international free agent by the New York Yankees in 2016. He made his ...

) in exchange for outfielder

Giancarlo Stanton Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton (born November 8, 1989), formerly known as Mike Stanton, is an American professional baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2010 a ...

and cash considerations. He finished his first season with the Marlins with a .278 batting average and 12 home runs and 54 RBI. Castro entered 2019 as a prominent trade candidate for the Marlins, but he struggled offensively throughout the first half of the season and did not attract much interest prior to the July 31 trade deadline. He transitioned from second base to third base in early August when the team promoted prospect Isan Díaz from the minor leagues. Castro's performance improved late in the season and he finished with a .270 batting average and set new career highs with 22 home runs and 86 RBI. He was one of only five MLB players in 2019 to play the full 162-game schedule. On October 31, 2019, the Marlins declined their 2020 option on him and made him a free agent.

Washington Nationals

The

signed Castro to a two-year contract reportedly valued at $12 million on January 7, 2020. On July 23, 2020, Castro was the starting second baseman, making his Nationals debut on Opening Day against his former team, the

. In an August 14 game against the

, Castro suffered a broken wrist attempting to make a diving play in the sixth inning. On August 22, it was announced that Castro had undergone surgery on the wrist and would miss the remainder of the year. On the season, Castro slashed .267/.302/.405 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. On June 15, 2021, Castro was placed on the restricted list after leaving the team to deal with a “family matter which requires his immediate attention”. Castro was released by the Nationals on September 2, 2021, shortly after the conclusion of his 30-game suspension for violating the MLB domestic violence policy.

Leones de Yucatán

On June 27, 2022, Castro signed with the

Leones de Yucatán The Leones de Yucatán (English: Yucatán Lions) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. The team play its home games at Parque Kukulcán Alamo in Mérida, Yucatán. The Leones have won the Mexican League title five times in , , , ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. In 28 games, he batted .240/.312/.323 with 1 home run and 9 RBIs. Castro left the team on August 14, 2022, for what the club cited as personal reasons.

Legal issues

On July 16, 2021,

announced it had begun an investigation into domestic violence allegations that had been brought against Castro, and he was placed on administrative leave. On July 30, Castro was suspended 30 games without pay and fined an undisclosed amount for violation of the league’s joint domestic violence policy. The Nationals announced shortly afterward that they would be releasing Castro after his suspension was served.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Starlin 1990 births Living people American League All-Stars Arizona League Cubs players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Cubs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Leones de Yucatán players Leones del Escogido players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Mesa Solar Sox players Miami Marlins players National League All-Stars New York Yankees players People from Monte Cristi Province Tennessee Smokies players Trenton Thunder players Washington Nationals players