Nationals agree to terms with infielder Starlin Castro

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a two-year contract with infielder Starlin Castro on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Castro, 29, joins the Nationals after setting career marks with 22 home runs and 86 RBI with the Miami Marlins in 2019. He hit .270 with 31 doubles, four triples, 28 walks, 68 runs scored, a .300 on-base percentage and a .436 slugging percentage in his 10th Major League season.

A four-time All-Star, Castro was one of five players in Major League Baseball (the only in the National League) to appear in all 162 games in 2019. He led the Marlins and ranked tied for 10th in the National League with 172 hits.

Castro was one of the top hitters in the National League during the second half of the 2019 season. From July 2 through the end of the season, he ranked sixth in the NL in batting average (.313), eighth in slugging percentage (.565), tied for ninth in RBI (53) and tied for 14th in home runs (17).

After spending his first five Major League seasons (2010-14) as the everyday shortstop for the Chicago Cubs, Castro saw brief action at second base in 2015 (38 games) before transitioning to the position full-time for the 2016 season. Over the last four seasons (2016-19), Castro has appeared at second base (526 games), third base (45 games) and shortstop (6 games).

Castro made his Major League debut in 2010 at the age of 20 years old. His 1,617 career hits are tied for the fourth-most among active Major Leaguers since the start of the 2010 season. In 1,470 career games across 10 seasons, Castr

Washington now has 35 players on its 40-man roster.