Castro announced his retirement from baseball Friday.
After 12 years in the big leagues with four different teams, Castro has officially caught his final pitch from behind home plate. The one-time All-Star finishes his career with a .227/.312/.387 slash line, 97 home runs and 325 RBI.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Out for season
Rotowire
Castro underwent surgery last week to repair the meniscus in his left knee and will miss the rest of the 2022 season, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. The Astros transferred him on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.
Castro sustained the injury in late June and didn't demonstrate enough progress over the past few weeks to avoid surgery. His season-ending injury may have played a small part in the Astros' decision to acquire Christian Vazquez from Boston on Monday. The transaction will clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Out with knee discomfort
Rotowire
Castro was placed on the 10-day injured list with left knee discomfort Friday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Castro's initial diagnosis of discomfort suggests he shouldn't miss too much time, though the Astros have yet to give a precise timeline for his return. Korey Lee was recalled to back up Martin Maldonado behind the plate.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Swats clutch homer
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Castro went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run Wednesday against the Mets.
Castro broke a scoreless tie in the ninth inning when he went yard for the first time this season. Though it was a clutch hit, Castro has been abysmal at the dish for the campaign by maintaining a .115/.205/.179 line across 88 plate appearances.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Struggling in June
Rotowire
Castro went 1-for-3 with a run scored Sunday against the White Sox.
Castro reached base on a leadoff single in the fifth inning and came around to score on a Mauricio Dubon home run. He remains firmly behind Martin Maldonado on the Astros' catching depth chart, as Sunday marked Castro's third start in the team's last nine games. Castro hasn't made the case for an increased role by hitting only .118 across 17 at-bats in June. Overall, he's hitting .108 on the season with five runs scored and one RBI.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Starts while Maldonado rests
Rotowire
Castro will start at catcher and bat eighth in Tuesday's game against the Rangers.
Castro will get his second start in three games, but he doesn't seem to be encroaching on No. 1 catcher Martin Maldonado's role in any dramatic way. In order to do so, Castro may need to pick up the pace at the plate, where he's been a major disappointment after supplying a .799 OPS across 179 plate appearances in 2021. He enters Tuesday's contest with a .102/.206/.136 slash line and has struck out in a whopping 45.6 percent of his plate appearances.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Starting for resting Maldonado
Rotowire
Castro will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Red Sox, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
No. 1 backstop Martin Maldonado is getting a well-deserved breather after catching each of the last three days, opening the door for Castro to enter the lineup. Through 39 plate appearances on the season, the 34-year-old is slashing .063/.231/.063 with a career-worst 48.7 percent strikeout rate.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Returns to bench
Rotowire
Castro is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Castro is back on the bench after he made his third start of the season in Sunday's 7-2 loss to the Mariners while going 0-for-3 with a walk. He'll likely pick up starts just once or twice per week while top backstop Martin Maldonado is available.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Back in action Saturday
Rotowire
Castro (undisclosed) is starting Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Manager Dusty Baker said Tuesday that Castro was "ailing," but he'll return to game action a few days later. He'll start behind the dish and bat sixth against St. Louis.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Out with unspecified issue
Rotowire
Astros manager Dusty Baker acknowledged Tuesday that Castro is "ailing," though the skipper didn't go into specifics regarding the backstop's recent absence from Grapefruit League games, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Castro hasn't caught in a Grapefruit League game since last Thursday and remains out of the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Nationals. Assuming whatever is keeping him off the field isn't a major concern, Castro should be ready to go for Opening Day. He's in line to serve as the primary backup to No. 1 catcher Martin Maldonado, a role that will likely afford Castro anywhere from one to three starts per week.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Out due to COVID-19 protocols
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Castro was removed from Houston's World Series roster due to COVID-19 protocols Saturday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.
Castro has tested positive for the virus, per Mark Berman of Fox 26. The move probably won't have a major impact on Houston's plans, as Castro wasn't slated to see much playing time as the team's backup catcher, a role which will now be filled by Garrett Stubbs. Castro was one of the team's better pinch-hitting options, however, so he'll be at least a modest loss during Game 4 and Game 5 in Atlanta.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Three hits, homer
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Castro went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run in an 8-6 loss to Oakland on Friday.
Castro singled in the second and fourth innings and laced a three-run shot in the eighth to cap a four-run inning for Houston and nearly complete a comeback. The veteran backstop has been hot since being activated from the IL Sep. 17 with a .474/.550/1.000 slash line in 19 at-bats.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Enters for Maldonado
Rotowire
Castro replaced an injured Martin Maldonado (shoulder) during Wednesday's 7-0 loss to Tampa Bay.
Maldonado injured his left shoulder while making a diving catch off a bunt attempt to end the fourth inning. He stayed in the game to play defense in the fifth but was removed to start the sixth when he was scheduled to bat. Castro, who singled in two at-bats, will start if Maldonado is deemed unavailable for Thursday's series finale.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Tags former team for homer
Rotowire
Castro went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Wednesday in a win over the Angels.
Facing the team he played for during part of last season, Castro slugged a fifth-inning solo shot to right field to pad an early Astros lead. The long ball was the fifth in what has been an injury-plagued campaign for the veteran backstop. Castro has gone 3-for-9 with two RBI since returning from his latest stint on the IL on Sept. 17.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Activated, starting Friday
Rotowire
Castro (knee) was activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday's game against the Diamondbacks, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.
Castro has been on the injured list since Aug. 29 with right knee discomfort. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday and wound up going 2-for-6 with a pair of walks and a run scored across two games. He should resume serving as Martin Maldonado's backup going forward, but per Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle, he's set to start behind the plate Friday and bat ninth.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Rehab assignment on tap
Rotowire
Astros manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that Castro (knee) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land during the upcoming week, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Baker didn't provide a specific day for the start of Castro's rehab assignment, but the veteran catcher looks like he'll soon be ready to take the next step forward in his recovery program after he caught a bullpen session Sunday. Castro has been on the shelf since Aug. 29 with the right knee injury.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Takes BP
Rotowire
Castro (knee) was spotted taking part in batting practice prior to Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Castro has been taking part in a variety of baseball activities in recent days after landing on the 10-day injured list Aug. 29 with right knee discomfort, but the Astros will likely want to see him catch multiple bullpen sessions and/or simulated games without incident before activating him. Until Castro is ready to go, Garrett Stubbs will serve as the top understudy to No. 1 catcher Martin Maldonado.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Begins activity
Rotowire
Castro (knee) has started to squat, hit off a tee and run on an anti-gravity treadmill, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. The catcher was placed on the injured list Aug. 29.
Astros general manager James Click remains hopeful that this will be "a very short-term thing," which suggests Castro could return before the end of the regular season. "The returns right now have been very positive," Click said Sunday on the team's pregame radio show. While Castro is unavailable, the Astros have Garrett Stubbs as a backup and added veteran backstop Drew Butera to the organization on a minor-league deal. They also brought catcher Michael Papierski onto its taxi squad for the road trip that ended Sunday in San Diego.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Heads to IL with knee issue
Rotowire
The Astros placed Castro on the 10-day injured list Sunday with right knee discomfort, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Manager Dusty Baker said prior to Sunday's series finale with the Rangers in Arlington that Castro has already returned to Houston to get his knee examined. Castro didn't appear in the Astros' first two games of their series with Texas, so his injury may have stemmed from his appearance as a defensive replacement in Wednesday's game against the Royals. Houston called up Garrett Stubbs from Triple-A Sugar Land to step in for Castro as the No. 2 catcher behind Martin Maldonado.
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Astros' Jason Castro: Picks up start
Rotowire
Castro will start at catcher and bat ninth Wednesday against the Mariners, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Castro will get the nod behind the dish in the series finale while No. 1 backstop Martin Maldonado receives a breather for the day game after a night game. Since Maldonado returned from the bereavement list July 5, Castro has picked up only four starts in 18 games.
