Rodolfo Castro (born May 21, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
| Rodolfo Castro | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Castro with the Indianapolis Indians in 2021 | |
| Philadelphia Phillies – No. 29 | |
| Second baseman / Shortstop | |
| Born: May 21, 1999 El Llano, Dominican Republic | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 21, 2021, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics (through 2023 season) | |
| Batting average | .219 |
| Home runs | 22 |
| Runs batted in | 59 |
| Teams | |
Career
editPittsburgh Pirates
editMinor leagues
editCastro signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as an international free agent in 2015.[1] He made his professional debut in 2016 with the Dominican Summer League Pirates, batting .271 with two home runs and 29 RBIs over 56 games. In 2017, he played with the Gulf Coast League Pirates, slashing .277/.344/.479 with six home runs and 32 RBIs, and in 2018, he played for the West Virginia Power, hitting .231 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs.[2] Castro split the 2019 season with both the Greensboro Grasshoppers (with whom he was named a South Atlantic League All-Star) and the Bradenton Marauders, slashing a combined .242/.298/.456 with 19 home runs and 73 RBIs.[3][4]
Major leagues
editOn November 20, 2020, the Pirates added Castro to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[5] He was promoted to the major leagues for the first time on April 21, 2021. He made his MLB debut that day as the starting third baseman in the second game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers.[6] He was optioned to the Altoona Curve in mid-July, but was recalled shortly after the Pirates traded Adam Frazier, with Castro being Frazier's replacement at second base.[7] On July 28, Castro hit two home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers. These were both his fourth and fifth major league home runs and his fourth and fifth major league hits, making him the first major league player since at least 1901 whose first five major league hits were all home runs.[8] In 31 games during his rookie campaign, he batted .198/.258/.395 with 5 homers and 8 RBI.
In 2022, Castro played in 71 games for Pittsburgh, hitting .233/.299/.427 with 11 home runs and 27 RBI.[9] He began the 2023 season with the Pirates, slashing .228/.317/.355 with 6 home runs and 22 RBI.[10]
On August 9th, 2022, Castro was playing a game when he slid into 3rd base, which would force a cellphone to slide out of his pocket. As a result, he would later serve a 1 game suspension as well as pay an undisclosed fine.
Philadelphia Phillies
editOn August 1, 2023, Castro was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for pitcher Bailey Falter.[11] In 14 games for the Phillies, he batted .100/.156/.100 with no home runs and two RBI.
Castro was optioned to the Triple–A Lehigh Valley IronPigs to begin the 2024 season.[12] In 19 games split between Lehigh, the High–A Jersey Shore BlueClaws, Single–A Clearwater Threshers, and rookie–level Florida Complex League Phillies, he slashed a cumulative .221/.286/.351 with three home runs and nine RBI. On August 22, 2024, Castro was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his right thumb and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.[13]
References
edit- ^ "2015 Pirates International Signing Review". Pirates Prospects. March 31, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Williams, Tim (May 28, 2019). "Rodolfo Castro Learns To Tame His Aggression". www.baseballamerica.com.
- ^ "Hoppers' Rodolfo Castro a catalyst for Northern Division's All-Star victory | Sports". greensboro.com. June 18, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ "Rule 5 draft: Pirates' outlook complicated by circumstances | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". Liber.post-gazette.com. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Adams, Steve (November 20, 2020). "Pirates Designate Trevor Williams For Assignment". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
- ^ Biertempfel, Rob. "Pirates rookie Rodolfo Castro makes unlikely major-league home run history: 'The guy's incredible'". The New York Times.
- ^ "Pirates recall Rodolfo Castro, Cody Ponce, start Luis Oviedo on the mound amid chaotic trade deadline". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- ^ McCalvy, Adam. "Win-win for Crew as offense set to get boost". MLB.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ^ "Rodolfo Castro - Stats - Batting". fangraphs.com. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ "Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Traded to Philly". cbssports.com. August 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ "Phillies add All-Star Lorenzen, switch-hitting Castro at Deadline". MLB.com.
- ^ "Phillies Announce More Roster Cuts With Some Big Names Sent Home". si.com. March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ "Phillies' Rodolfo Castro: Out for season". cbssports.com. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet