Starlin

Castro

Castro’s 30-game domestic violence suspension has come to an end, but he’s now officially off the roster in Washington and will probably struggle to attract interest from other teams in free agency. The 31-year-old former four-time All-Star wound up batting .283/.333/.375 with three home runs and 38 RBI across 87 games played (346 plate appearances) this season with the Nats.

Castro had been on administrative leave while MLB conducted their investigation into allegations of domestic violence, and that investigation is now complete. The Nationals released a statement saying that Castro will be released once his suspension is served.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo has already come out and said that he does not expect Castro -- who is being investigated for a domestic violence allegation -- to return to the team this season.

Castro was placed on MLB’s administrative leave list last week becasue of an allegation of domestic violence. The matter is still being investigated, but Rizzo has taken a hard line with the details that he’s been made aware of. "[Players] have to do better, the world has to do better,” Rizzo told reporters.

Details are uncertain at the moment. MLB has the ability to extend the administrative leave in seven-day increments as they see fit but would need to gain approval from the MLBPA. Worth noting is that Castro was investigated for sexual assault back in 2012, although prosecutors ultimately declined to charge him.

Castro was one of three hitters for the Nationals to drive in three runs in a 15-5 blowout win over the Padres. With two runners in scoring position in the second inning, Castro singled off of Chris Paddack to drive in both runners. He added a double in the fourth inning off of Nabil Crismatt and plated a run on an RBI groundout in the ninth. The 31-year-old veteran infielder is slashing .268/.321/.358 with three homers and 37 RBI over 331 plate appearances.

There’s been some speculation here and there about some possible moves, but Mark Zuckerman of MASN writes that “there’s little indication [Nats GM Mike Rizzo] aggressively pursued anyone else” this offseason. And while there’s still time for that to happen before spring training, it would be a surprise if they suddenly shifted gears. Of course, the 23-year-old Kieboom has been a major disappointment in the majors so far, posting a weak .181/.309/.232 batting line over 165 plate appearances. He has also struggled defensively. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on him to deliver on his top prospect status and the Nationals appear committed to giving him a chance to do so. Josh Harrison is around as veteran insurance and the Nationals could even move Starlin Castro to third base and put Luis Garcia at second base if things don’t work out. But right now, the club is hoping they won’t have to go to Plan B.

Castro reached base safely in two of his four plate appearances, attempting to pick up the slack for the injury-depleted Nationals, who also lost leadoff lynchpin Kyle Schwarber to a right leg injury on Friday evening. However, their bullpen wound up imploding in the late innings, wasting a stellar performance from Max Scherzer in this one. The 31-year-old infielder is hitting .256/.308/.345 with three homers across 308 plate appearances.

Castro has had a rough year at the plate, but he put together arguably his best game to day in this one. The veteran infielder singled in a couple runs in the third inning before cranking a 415-foot home run off of Michael Wacha in the sixth. He reached base again via a walk in the eighth and scored again. Castro waited until the last day of June to hit his first home run of the month, and he’s now popped exactly one long ball in each month. In fairness, he has been swinging it better of late, batting .350 over his last 11 contests.

Castro had been away while tending to a personal matter. He’s posted a disappointing .239/.287/.312 batting line this season.