Pirates' Castro suspended 1 game for having cell phone on field

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro was suspended one game and fined for having his cell phone on the field during a game, Major League Baseball announced.

However, the league didn't find any evidence that Castro used the phone while the contest was happening, sources told Jeff Passan of ESPN.

Some executives were reportedly worried MLB wouldn't be doing enough to discourage players from using phones to receive signals if Castro wasn't punished appropriately.

Castro is appealing the suspension, meaning he'll be available to play until he receives a hearing.

The 23-year-old's phone fell out of his back pocket while sliding into third base during the Pirates' Aug. 9 contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

After the incident went viral, Castro said it was an honest mistake on his part. MLB, however, investigated and decided it was nonetheless a violation of the league's electronic device policy.

Castro told reporters Tuesday that he's taking some steps to ensure there won't be a repeat incident.

"Like I mentioned earlier, just being very intentional and mindful, especially in pregame, to begin to disconnect from any electronic devices, (and) disconnect from anything that doesn't involve the game. And just be more intentional by just equipping myself mentally and physically before the game," he said, according to Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports. "This is something I grew from, and I definitely learned a huge lesson from, and I can guarantee you it won't happen again."

Castro owns a .239/.300/.402 slash line with two homers and five RBIs across 100 plate appearances in his second big-league campaign.