HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros have signed veteran free-agent catcher Jason Castro to a two-year deal. The announcement was made by Astros General Manager James Click.

Castro, 33, is a veteran of 10 Major League seasons, the first six of which were spent with the Astros (2010, 2012-16) after he was selected by the club with the 10th overall pick in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft. During those six seasons with Houston, he caught 572 regular season games, six postseason games, and one no-hitter. He was an American League All-Star and the Astros Team MVP in 2013, a season where he set franchise records for home runs (18), doubles (35), slugging percentage (.485) and OPS (.835) by a catcher for a single season. In 2015, he was a finalist for a Gold Glove Award, caught 17 of Dallas Keuchel’s starts during his Cy Young Award-winning season, and helped the Astros end a 10-year postseason drought as the club advanced to Game 5 of the American League Division Series.

Following his six-season run with the Astros, Castro spent three seasons with the Twins (2017-19) before joining the Angels prior to the 2020 season. After playing in 18 games with Los Angeles, he was acquired by the playoff-bound Padres at the 2020 trade deadline. In 27 regular season games in 2020 between the two clubs, he hit .188 (5x80) with nine doubles, two homers and nine RBI.

Castro and his wife, Maris, have lived in Houston since 2013. In 2014, Castro was the Astros nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award due to his efforts promoting childhood literacy through his charity, Castro’s Kids, which donated more than 60,000 books to the Houston Independent School District over a five-year period.