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Rodolfo Castro
Rodolfo Castro
	Castro with the Indianapolis Indians in 2021
Free agent
	Second baseman / Shortstop
	Born: May 21, 1999 (age 25); 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
	Pittsburgh Pirates (2021–2023); Philadelphia Phillies (2023);

Rodolfo Castro (born May 21, 1999) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies.

Career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Minor leagues

Castro 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

On 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

On 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] On November 4, he cleared waivers, was outrighted from the 40-man roster, and elected free agency.^[14]