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Willi Castro

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Castro and the second or maternal family name is Capellan.

Willi Castro
Castro with the Lake County Captains in 2016
Minnesota Twins – No. 50
Utility player
Born: (1997-04-24) April 24, 1997 (age 27)
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
Bats: Switch
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 24, 2019, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through September 18, 2024)
Batting average.249
Home runs45
Runs batted in192
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Willi Rafael Castro Capellan (born April 24, 1997) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball utility player for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2019. Castro was named an All-Star in 2024.

Career

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Cleveland Indians

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Castro signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 2013.[1] He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Arizona League Indians and spent the whole season there, batting .239 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 43 games. He played 2015 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, where he batted .264 with one home run, 25 RBIs and twenty stolen bases, and 2016 with the Lake County Captains and Lynchburg Hillcats, posting a combined .258 batting average with seven home runs and 49 RBIs. In 2017, Castro played for Lynchburg where he batted .290 with a career-high 11 home runs along with 58 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and a .761 OPS.[2] The Indians added him to their 40-man roster after the season.[3]

MLB.com ranked Castro as Cleveland's fifth-best prospect going into the 2018 season.[4] He opened the 2018 season with the Akron RubberDucks.

Detroit Tigers

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On July 31, 2018, Castro was traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Leonys Martín and Kyle Dowdy.[5] Following the trade, he split the rest of the season between the Erie SeaWolves and the Toledo Mud Hens. He opened the 2019 season back with Toledo.

On August 24, 2019, the Tigers selected Castro's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[6] He made his major league debut that night versus the Minnesota Twins, going 2-for-4.[7] On September 22, Castro hit his first major league home run off Josh Osich of the Chicago White Sox.[8] He ended the season hitting .230 with 1 home run in 30 games.

Castro began the 2020 season at the Tigers' satellite training camp in Toledo. He was recalled to the major league club on August 13, 2020.[9] In 129 at-bats during the 2020 season, Castro hit .349 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI.

Castro made the 2021 Tigers team out of spring training and played in his first opening-day game at the major league level. After Castro experienced some defensive struggles at shortstop, manager A. J. Hinch began playing him more at second base.[10] On July 16, the Tigers demoted Castro to Triple–A Toledo. Through the All-Star break, Castro had posted a .214 batting average and 6 home runs, with a minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved rating at second base.[11] Castro was recalled to the major league roster on July 22 to replace the injured Isaac Paredes.[12] He finished the 2021 season batting .220/.273/.351 with 9 home runs, 38 RBIs, and 9 stolen bases in 125 games.

On April 6, 2022, the Tigers optioned Castro to Triple–A Toledo to start the 2022 season.[13] He was recalled to the Tigers on April 17 to replace the injured Javier Báez.[14]

On November 18, 2022, Castro was non-tendered by the Tigers and became a free agent.

Minnesota Twins

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On December 30, 2022, Castro signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins.[15] On March 29, 2023, the Twins selected Castro's contract, adding him to the team's Opening Day roster.[16] He appeared in 124 games with the Twins in 2023, slashing .257/.339/.411 and posting a career-high 2.7 WAR. Castro was named to his first All-Star team in 2024.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Sports, Plain Dealer (July 28, 2017). "Willi Castro streaking for Lynchburg Hillcats: Cleveland Indians Minor Leagues". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  2. ^ "Willi Castro Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats – The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Hoynes, Paul; clevel; .com (November 21, 2017). "Cleveland Indians add four to 40-man roster; claim Refsnyder; DFA Crockett, Baker". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  4. ^ "Tribe's 2018 Top 30 Prospects list is 100% homegrown". MLB.com. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  5. ^ Fenech, Anthony (July 31, 2018). "Detroit Tigers trade Leonys Martin to Indians for infield prospect". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  6. ^ Woodbery, Evan (August 24, 2019). "Tigers call up shortstop prospect Willi Castro". mlive.com. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  7. ^ "Detroit Tigers' Willi Castro collects 2 hits in debut, an 8-5 loss to Twins". The Star Tribune. Detroit Free Press. August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  8. ^ Beck, Jason (September 22, 2019). "Tigers use the long ball to take down White Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  9. ^ Williams, Lauren (August 13, 2020). "Willi Castro comes out swinging in 2020 season debut for the Tigers". MLive.com. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  10. ^ Woodbery, Evan (April 20, 2021). "Tigers' infielders swap spots: Willi Castro starting at 2nd base if snow holds off tonight". MLive.com. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  11. ^ McCosky, Chris (July 16, 2021). "Tigers demote Willi Castro, DFA Mazara; Derek Hill and Isaac Paredes back up". detroitnews.com. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  12. ^ Wakiji, Dana. "Tigers' Isaac Paredes heads to injured list; Willi Castro returns". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  13. ^ Petzold, Evan (April 6, 2022). "Detroit Tigers roster moves: Jose Cisnero to 60-day injured list; Willi Castro to Triple-A". freep.com. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  14. ^ Polishuk, Mark (April 17, 2022). "Recap: Tigers Place Javier Baez On 10-Day Injured List, Recall Willi Castro". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "Twins Sign Willi Castro to Minor League Deal".
  16. ^ "Twins Select Willi Castro". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  17. ^ "Twins super utilityman Willi Castro named to AL All-Star team as replacement".
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