Nationals place Starlin Castro on IL with broken wrist

The Nationals announced that second baseman Starlin Castro has suffered a broken right wrist. He has been placed on the 10-day injured list.

That diagnosis comes after Castro departed the team’s contest earlier Friday. It explains why the Nats suddenly decided to promote top infield prospect Luis Garcia, a move that is now official.

Garcia will debut at 20 years and 90 days of age. Castro was actually a shade younger when he first hit the majors back in 2010. He has had some ups and downs since but has generally been a solid overall performer.

Castro inked a two-year, $12M deal over the offseason to join the defending World Series champs. He had been off to a productive start, slashing .283/.317/.467 over 63 plate appearances entering action today.

Precisely how long Castro will be sidelined isn’t yet known, but it’s likely beside the point. At this stage of the calendar, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be able to recover and ramp back up in time to return before the regular season wraps up.