The Twins placed Castro on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a right oblique strain.
Castro hasn't played in more than a week and the Twins have finally relented and placed the super-utility player on the IL. According to Dan Hayes of The Athletic, the switch-hitting Castro has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain. While Castro can hit pain-free from the right side, he isn't able to swing left-handed without feeling tightness. He's eligible for activation May 1, and he sounds like he'll have a shot to return at that time.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Held out again Thursday
Rotowire
Castro (oblique) is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the White Sox.
It marks six straight games Castro has been absent from the lineup due to a right oblique injury. The Twins are going with Brooks Lee at third base and Edouard Julien at second base Thursday.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Remains out Wednesday
Rotowire
Castro (oblique) remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.
Castro hasn't played in a week due to a right oblique injury, although indications are that he will not require a trip to the 10-day injured list. Luke Keaschall will start at second base and Brooks Lee will cover third base for the Twins.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Takes indoor batting practice
Rotowire
Castro (oblique) took indoor batting practice prior to Tuesday's game against the White Sox, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports.
Castro admitted Tuesday that he doesn't feel 100 percent while he works through a right oblique injury, but he and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli are confident Castro can avoid a stint on the injured list. The oblique flares up when the switch hitter bats left-handed, so it's possible he returns only to hit right-handed initially.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Held out again Tuesday
Rotowire
Castro (oblique) remains out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the White Sox.
Castro hasn't played since tweaking his right oblique on April 16, although there's been no indication to this point that the Twins are mulling a injured-list stint. The Twins are going with Brooks Lee at third base and Edouard Julien at second base Tuesday.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Sitting again Sunday
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Castro (oblique) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.
It's the fourth consecutive absence for Castro since tightness in his right oblique surfaced Wednesday against the Mets. There's been no indication to this point as to whether the 27-year-old will require a trip to the injured list. Brooks Lee will start at third base Sunday for the third time since Castro suffered the injury.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Still sidelined Saturday
Rotowire
Castro (oblique) is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against Atlanta.
Castro will officially miss a second consecutive game after leaving Wednesday's game early due to right oblique tightness. Luke Keaschall will start at second base with Jonah Bride at third.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Not starting Friday
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Castro (oblique) is not in the Twins' starting lineup against Atlanta on Friday.
Castro exited Wednesday's game against the Mets due to tightness in his right oblique, and he'll be held out of Friday's lineup while working through the injury. Edouard Julien and Brooks Lee will start at second and third base, respectively, against Atlanta right-hander Bryce Elder.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Exits with oblique injury
Rotowire
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said that Castro left Wednesday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the Mets in the eighth inning due to tightness in his right oblique, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
Castro started at shortstop and went 2-for-3 with a double before departing with the injury, which Baldelli described as minor. With Carlos Correa dealing with a hand injury, the Twins may need to call up another infielder if Castro isn't available for the team's next game Friday in Atlanta.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Getting day off Tuesday
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Castro is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Royals.
Castro has started and finished all 10 games to open the season, but he's getting a breather Tuesday against lefty Cole Ragans. Mickey Gasper will make the start at second base and bat ninth. Castro is slashing .235/.333/.441 with four doubles, one home run, four RBI, four runs scored and one stolen base across 39 plate appearances in the early going this season.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Breaks no-no Monday
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Castro went 1-for-4 in Monday's 9-0 loss to the White Sox.
Castro broke the White Sox's no-hitter bid when he singled off Mike Vasil in the seventh inning. Castro has logged a hit in each of the first four games of the 2025 season and has gone 5-for-14 with three doubles, one home run and three RBI.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Gets start at second base
Rotowire
Castro started at second base and went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Thursday's loss to the Cardinals.
Castro started at second base and could get the bulk of playing time at the position until Brooks Lee (back) returns from the injured list. Castro should be a regular in the lineup, but he may alternate positions to give players days off or to fill in for an injury.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Lined up to see bulk of 2B reps
Rotowire
The Twins are currently likely to give most of the playing time at second base to Castro, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.
As Hays notes, there's a decent chance the defensively versatile Castro will be needed elsewhere to cover for an injury, whether that's by Opening Day or at some point later on. However, the Twins are healthy right now on the position-player side, and if that holds, Castro appears lined up to see most of the reps at second base. Brooks Lee, Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper are also competing for playing time at the keystone.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Settles with Minnesota at $6.4M
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The Twins and Castro avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $6.4 million contract Thursday, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports.
It was the 27-year-old's final year of arbitration eligibility, as he's slated to hit the free-agent market next offseason. Castro slashed .247/.331/.385 with 12 homers and 14 steals in a super-utility role with the Twins and 2024 and should serve in a similar capacity in 2025.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Sitting Sunday
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Castro is not in Sunday's lineup against the Orioles.
Castro hit .200 with one home run and two steals over 75 at-bats in September. Austin Martin is starting in left field and batting second.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Goes yard, steals base in win
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Castro went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a stolen base in Tuesday's win against Cleveland.
The Twins' utility man garnered a start in left field and cracked his 12th long ball of the season off reliever Nick Sandlin in the eighth to extend the lead to 4-1. Castro previously swiped his 14th base in the contest, as this performance marks the third time in his career that he's collected a homer and a steal in the same game. Overall, the 27-year-old is now slashing .250/.334/.394 with 83 runs scored and 57 RBI in 592 plate appearances across 148 games.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Re-enters lineup Wednesday
Rotowire
Castro (illness) will start in left field and bat sixth Wednesday against the Angels.
After being removed from Monday's 6-2 loss in the series opener, Castro received the night off in Tuesday's 10-5 win, but he'll be back in action for the finale. Before falling ill, Castro had been in the midst of a rough start to September, having gone 1-for-21 with eight strikeouts to begin the month.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Idle again Saturday
Rotowire
Castro is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Royals.
Castro is out of the lineup for a second consecutive game, marking his first back-to-back absences from the starting lineup since April. Though there haven't been any reports of an injury, fantasy managers should keep an eye on Castro's availability.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Out of lineup Friday
Rotowire
Castro is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Royals.
Castro continues to operate in a near-everyday role for Minnesota while bouncing between shortstop and center field. He's been in a bad way at the dish with just two hits in his last seven games, but for the year Castro's been worth close to three wins above replacement by fWAR.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Slugs ninth homer
Rotowire
Castro went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Monday's 8-3 win versus Kansas City.
The 27-year-old drew his fourth consecutive start in the leadoff spot and cracked a 386-foot, three-run blast off Brady Singer in the second inning to give the Twins a 4-2 lead. Castro has now equaled his career high in long balls with nine, also achieved in 2021 and 2023. The utility man continues to find plenty of playing time in Minnesota thanks to his versatility and is now slashing .259/.342/.407 with 12 steals, 68 runs scored and 44 RBI across 480 plate appearances.
