Major League Baseball announced on Friday that Washington Nationals infielder Starlin Castro has been suspended for 30 games after an investigation found that he had violated the league's domestic violence policy.
Here's MLB's full statement on the matter:
Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. announced today that Washington Nationals infielder Starlin Castro has received a 30-game suspension without pay, effective today, and an undisclosed fine for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy. Pursuant to Major League Rule 41(a), Castro will be ineligible for the 2021 Postseason. Consistent with the terms of the Policy, Castro will participate in a confidential and comprehensive evaluation and treatment program supervised by the Joint Policy Board.
Castro, 31, was placed on the restricted list on June 16 to deal with what manager Davey Martinez referred to as a "family matter." It's unclear when the actual incident occurred, but he rejoined the Nationals lineup on June 18. The league placed Castro on administrative leave two weeks ago.
Castro's suspension will expire this season, but he won't be welcomed back to the Nationals. "We take all allegations of abuse and harassment very seriously," the team released in a statement. "We fully support the Commissioner's decision and will be releasing Starlin Castro upon the completion of his suspension. Per the terms of the policy, we will have no further comment on this matter."
The Nationals' decision aligns with comments recently made by Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo.
"The process is the process," Rizzo told reporters recently. "You asked the question, 'Do I plan on having Starlin Castro back' and I said 'I do not plan on having him back.'"
Rizzo also said that he told the Nationals roster the following: "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, a veteran of parts of 12 big-league seasons, joined the Nationals on a two-year contract prior to the 2020 season.
