Washington Nationals infielder Starlin Castro, who was placed on administrative leave last Friday so the league can investigate an alleged domestic violence incident, seems unlikely to rejoin the team this season.
"The process is the process,'' Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters on Tuesday, according to ESPN. "You asked the question, 'Do I plan on having Starlin Castro back' and I said I do not plan on having him back.''
Rizzo added that he told the Nationals roster: "We've got to do better. We've got to do better at this. The whole world has to do better at this. And it's unacceptable and it's zero tolerance here and I don't care how good of a player you are, it's zero tolerance and we're just not going to put up with it.'"
Castro, 31, was placed on the restricted list back on June 16 for what manager Dave Martinez called a "family matter." There was little other information at the time while Castro dealt with the unknown issue at his home in the Dominican Republic. Castro then returned to the team on June 18.
It would appear the allegations of domestic violence stem from June, but there are no further details at this time.
A player in cases such as these is placed on administrative leave for seven days -- still getting paid and accruing service time -- in order for Major League Baseball to investigate allegations and see if there was a violation of the domestic violence policy. It is not an indicator that the league is calling the player guilty nor is it the player admitting guilt.
As we've seen in recent weeks in the case of Dodgers starter Trevor Bauer, the seven days of leave can be extended so long as all parties, including the MLB Players Association, agree. Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna is also still on leave while the league investigates his domestic violence arrest from back in May.
