Juan Castro

Juan Gabriel Castro was born on June 20, 1972 in Mexico.

He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1991, debuting for them in 1995. Castro spent five seasons with Los Angeles, helping them reach the playoffs in 1996. The Cincinnati Reds acquired Castro in a trade just days before the 2000 season got underway. He spent five more years there, before becoming a free agent following the 2004 campaign.

The Minnesota Twins signed Castro to a two year, $2.05 million contract very early on in the 2004-05 free agency cycle. His experience at shortstop and third base made him attractive to a team that was set to lose both Corey Koskie and Cristian Guzman. Castro would play a healthy dose of both positions in 2005, batting .257 with five home runs and 33 RBI over 97 appearances. He was the Opening Day shortstop in 2006, but eventually lost the job to a surging Jason Bartlett. The Twins traded Castro back to the Reds on June 15, 2006.

Castro was a well traveled player from that point forward. After leaving the Reds in 2008, he had a second and third stint with the Dodgers. This was split by stints with the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies. Always more known for his versatile infield glove, he finished his 17-year big league career with a .229 average and 36 home runs.

When he retired after the 2011 season, the Dodgers hired Castro to work in their front office. He was on their Major League coaching staff during the 2016 and 2017 season. The Phillies hired him as their infield coordinator for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He has since returned to his home country, and currently manages a team in the Mexican League.

• Castro was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023