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Dodgers News: Yasiel Puig Mourns Tragic Deaths Of Former MLB Infielders Luis Valbuena, Jose Castillo

Matt Borelli
2 Min Read
Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The baseball world was taken aback Thursday evening with the devastating news that former MLB infielders Luis Valbuena and Jose Castillo were killed in a car accident in their native Venezuela.

Valbuena, 33, had been playing winter ball for Cardenales de Lara. He appeared in 96 games for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim this past season before his release from the club in August.

Valbuena’s winter teammate, Castillo, was 37-years-old. In parts of five MLB seasons from 2004-08, he enjoyed stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros.

Tributes immediately began pouring across social media, including one from Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig, who offered his condolences to those affected by the tragedy:

Venezuelan authorities revealed that the car crash was caused by highway bandits who intentionally threw rocks on the road. The four suspects have since been detained after being caught with personal items that belonged to Valbuena and Castillo.

Puig similarly took to Twitter in the immediate wake of former Miami Marlins ace Jose Fernandez’s untimely death in 2016.

Matt Borelli covers the Los Angeles Dodgers as a staff writer for Dodger Blue and holds similar responsibilities for Lakers Nation, a sister site with an emphasis on the Los Angeles Lakers. He also contributes to RamsNewswire.com and RaidersNewswire.com. An avid fantasy sports player, Matt is a former 2014 MLB Beat the Streak co-champion. His favorite Dodgers moment, among a list of many, is Clayton Kershaw's no-hitter against the Colorado Rockies in 2014. Follow him on Twitter: @mcborelli.