The Nationals have an agreement in place to sign free agent infielder Starlin Castro, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was first to report Friday evening.
Castro, 29, is an effective fielder with versatility, primarily a middle infielder who can also play third base, as he did in 44 games for the Marlins in 2019. At the plate, he slashed .270/.300/.436 with 31 doubles, four triples, 22 home runs and 86 RBI. He walked 28 times and stole two bases while languishing on the 105-loss ball club. Castro will be 30 when the 2020 season begins.
Free-agent infielder Starlin Castro in agreement with #Nationals, pending physical, sources tell The Athletic. Move would not take them out of Donaldson sweepstakes. Plan is for Castro to play second base.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal)
January 3, 2020 What this means for the Nationals' pursuit of free agent third baseman Josh Donaldson is unclear. It could mean they're out on Donaldson, just as it could mean they're still in and plan to play Castro at second. Speculating about the ramifications would be purely guess work at this point.
Although Jess Dougherty of The Washington Post reports the Nats will still pursue Donaldson, which could make Castro a nice insurance policy in case they do lose out on the 34-year-old.
Starlin Castro split time between 2B + 3B last season with the Marlins. Hearing the Nationals will still pursue Josh Donaldson and like Castro at 2B, but his versatility does not hurt either way.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse)
January 3, 2020 After all, MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported Thursday that the Nats were one of three teams (with the Twins and Braves the others) who made four-year offers to Donaldson in the range of $100 million.
Who is the favorite to land Josh Donaldson?#MLBNHotStove pic.twitter.com/qrqiG8O66b
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork)
January 2, 2020 The Starlin Castro signing won't impact the Nationals' pursuit of Josh Donaldson, as Castro will play second base for Washington. The Nationals, Braves and Twins are still seen as the current favorites for Donaldson, who is expected to land a four-year deal worth $100M or more.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand)
January 3, 2020 Feinsand reports Castro's deal (pending a physical) is for $12 million over two years.
Starlin Castro has agreed to a two-year, $12M deal with the Nationals to play second base, a source confims. The deal is pending a physical. @Ken_Rosenthal @Joelsherman1 & @JeffPassan were first with various details of the deal.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand)
January 3, 2020 Some other odds and ends on the reported deal:
Nationals have a 2-year deal with Starlin Castro, pending physical, source confirms. They see him as more of a second baseman than third baseman. Seems like he fills Dozier’s role more than Rendon’s. (First reported by @Ken_Rosenthal)
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman)
January 3, 2020 Most career hits, players born in the 1990s1,617 Starlin Castro1,568 José Altuve1,324 Mike Trout1,200 Manny Machado
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka)
January 3, 2020
