Starlin Castro

Jon Morosi ✔ @jonmorosi
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Starlin Castro has drawn some trade interest, but the Cubs do not plan to move him this month, sources say. @FOXSports1
12:57 PM - 18 Jul 2014


David Lennon ✔ @DPLennon
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Talked to source familiar with Cubs thinking. Said don’t expect Starlin Castro to be traded this season. Also could be moved to 3B for ’15.
3:47 PM - 14 Jul 2014

To deal or not to deal seems to be the question the Chicago Cubs face with Starlin Castro.

Castro, 24, has been the subject of trade rumors for quite some time now, despite yet another quality season from him at the plate. Provided the Cubs are once again cellar-dwellers, though, it makes sense that any and all players come up in rumors.

Especially when Chicago's front office makes things worse by acquiring 2012 first-round pick Addison Russell, a shortstop at 20 years of age who is one of the most coveted at his position among all prospects. He joined on via the trade that sent Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Oakland, per ESPNChicago.com's Jesse Rogers.

Of course, the Cubs sound like they have little interest in moving Castro, as illustrated by Newsday's David Lennon

Holding on to Castro still makes loads of sense. He's due $5.8 million this year, a number that escalates by $1 million each season through 2019, per Spotrac. His career numbers, while a small sample size, are great:

YEARABHRRBIAVGOBPSLG
2010463341.300.347.408
20116741066.307.341.432
20126461478.283.323.430
20136661044.245.284.347
20143731152.276.326.440
ESPN

But what about the other moving pieces, of which there are plenty? As Lennon muses, Castro could very much move to third base next season to make room for Russell.

One problem: The Cubs also have one of the best prospects in the country at third base in Kris Bryant, although he could very well still be a candidate to play in the outfield.

"It's real good for us, especially since we both had a down year last year," Castro told CBS Sports' Matt Snyder. "I love being here with Anthony. He's a great teammate and a great person. We do things together a lot, hang out a lot and it's going to be good to be his teammate for a long time."

If all of the above sounds like the Cubs have a good problem, that's because they do. Castro is another young piece the front office is using to build for the future, although the allure of a trade certainly has to be strong.

I thought that third base was looked at as more of a power position? If that's the case, why not leave Castro at shortstop and then third base will be between Baez, Bryant and Russell. They are supposed to be "rebuilding." You're not rebuilding when you trade a 24 year old shortstop. A lot of prospects come up at the age of 24. Shortstop isn't being "blocked" by a 30-something year old fill in player.

I've noticed that quite a few people insist that MLB pitching is the Cubs biggest need. If that's the case, then why not trade Javier Baez and/or Addison Russell. I think both of them will be good players but there's no need to trade Starlin Castro. Shortstop isn't broken, so there's no need to attempt to fix it. If the Cubs really wanted to, they could have swapped Justin Upton for Starlin Castro two years ago, that's what the Diamondbacks wanted.

I think they should just figure out different ways to set these guys up in the field instead of trading Castro. I mean what's the point of trading Castro to make room for Russell? It seems Russel projects to be pretty much the same player Castro is now... He's just a few years younger. I don't think it would be bad to stick Bryant in the outfield and keep Castro, Russell, Baez, Rizzo in the IF?

Maybe I'm just a big Castro homer, but I'd be pretty pissed/bummed with a Castro trade.

The Cubs better not trade Starlin Castro. Do they really want to risk having to deal with the "Castro Curse?"

Two all stars too many for a team trying to win the worst record in MLB. Might as well trade them away.

dabears253313 said:

I've noticed that quite a few people insist that MLB pitching is the Cubs biggest need. If that's the case, then why not trade Javier Baez and/or Addison Russell. I think both of them will be good players but there's no need to trade Starlin Castro. Shortstop isn't broken, so there's no need to attempt to fix it. If the Cubs really wanted to, they could have swapped Justin Upton for Starlin Castro two years ago, that's what the Diamondbacks wanted.

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Because it would be stupid to trade Baez at this point. His ceiling is too high. It makes more sense to trade Castro. Castro doesn't really have enough power to play a corner position. His defense isn't that great either.

dabears253313 said:

The Cubs better not trade Starlin Castro. Do they really want to risk having to deal with the "Castro Curse?"

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Funny. You should indicate sarcasm though.

Mr. Cub said:

I think they should just figure out different ways to set these guys up in the field instead of trading Castro. I mean what's the point of trading Castro to make room for Russell? It seems Russel projects to be pretty much the same player Castro is now... He's just a few years younger. I don't think it would be bad to stick Bryant in the outfield and keep Castro, Russell, Baez, Rizzo in the IF?

Maybe I'm just a big Castro homer, but I'd be pretty pissed/bummed with a Castro trade.

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I agree. The Cubs can easily set up that infield. They can even put Castro in the outfield if they wanted to.

You're not being a homer. I don't understand the fascination of trading away the guy who has the most hits since 2010 (is that still accurate?) The Cubs are supposed to be rebuilding. When you rebuild you do not trade a 24 year old player, whether they are an all star or not. Most prospects come up around 24. He's not even in his prime yet.

2323 said:

Funny. You should indicate sarcasm though.

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Sarcasm on the curse.

2323 said:

Because it would be stupid to trade Baez at this point. His ceiling is too high. It makes more sense to trade Castro. Castro doesn't really have enough power to play a corner position. His defense isn't that great either.

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Castro is proven, though. If Castro isn't that great of a fielder then the same goes for Baez.

dabears253313 said:

Castro is proven, though. If Castro isn't that great of a fielder then the same goes for Baez.

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You're making a case for trading Castro over Baez. Because Baez had so much more power than Castro, you can put him at any corner position. Castro doesn't really have the power to play a corner position.

The being "proven" is why the Cubs should trade him. That's what is elevating his value relative to the prospects with higher ceilings. Getting hits is ok but SLG and OBP are more important.

Castro has been in the league for 5 years. He's an All Star x3! The best part? He is only 24, he's cheap (for now), and he is just getting to his prime years. Only thing people have against him is maybe his defense and his sometimes lack of focus, both of which seem to be getting better as he matures into a better ball player.

I could almost see him plateau at around a .285- .310/15-20 ish HR/85+ RBI hitter with solid defense for at least the nest 5-7 years. And that's not a bad type of player to keep around. Especially if the guy that is here to replace him should he get traded, IF he pans out, would probably be about the same...

2323 said:

You're making a case for trading Castro over Baez. Because Baez had so much more power than Castro, you can put him at any corner position. Castro doesn't really have the power to play a corner position.

The being "proven" is why the Cubs should trade him. That's what is elevating his value relative to the prospects with higher ceilings. Getting hits is ok but SLG and OBP are more important.

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I understand but I just think it's better to keep both of them. They can trade Castro because he is proven but at the same time Baez isn't guaranteed to be a good replacement. I think Baez will be good, but nothing is guaranteed. Players bust all the time.

The Cubs have a lot of different ways they can go by setting up the infield with Castro/Baez/Russell/Bryant/Alcantara. They can keep Baez and Russell in the infield and Castro/Bryant/Alacantara can compete for the other infield spot, two of them can play in the outfield.

I'm trying to figure out why they would suggest Castro moving to 3B in 2015. Would Russell be ready in ST next year?

Honestly, I wouldn't be averse to trading Rizzo and sliding Bryant over to 1st. Not yet though. If Bryant is the tower of power that it appears he's going to be, I'd almost prefer to have him there just to minimize injury risk.

dabears253313 said:

I thought that third base was looked at as more of a power position? If that's the case, why not leave Castro at shortstop and then third base will be between Baez, Bryant and Russell.

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That's been essentially my argument about Baez the entire time and I didn't really follow why they were toying with 2B. That being said, if Castro is a 25 HR player going forward that's more than enough power for 3B. Last year only 6 3B had 24 or more HRs. Year prior to that it was 7. If I'm being honest, I wouldn't be surprised to see both Castro and Baez traded at some point though I think it makes much more sense to move Baez for pitching and wait a few years before considering Castro after you see what Russell does long term. Neither Castro nor Baez were picks/trades this front office made. Both were inherited players. And if you remove both from the equation it gets a lot less messy having Bryant at 3B, Russell at SS, Alcantara at 2B and 4 OF to choose from for 3 spots in McKinney, Almora, Schwarber and Soler.

I don't think they start talking about moving Castro until/if Russell is ready. Ultimately, Russell is the best defensive SS of the group. So, it doesn't make a great deal of sense to worry about moving Castro off SS until he's ready because if you move Castro off SS for Baez in 2 years you're probably moving Baez off SS for Russell. Baez on the other hand they either have to figure out some way to make him work or trade him probably this off season.

Some people believe 2B is the way to go with Baez. I'm not one of them. I get the idea but to me it feels far to forced for my tastes. There's really not any 2B that has the same profile as Baez. Cano would be the closest but he was a solid contact guy with decent power(15-20 HR) before he started hitting his prime years. The player Baez appears to be(high power/k rate) typically plays on the edges of the field(1B/3B/LF/RF). There's always exceptions to rules but in this case, I feel like if there aren't similar players already playing in the majors at 2B there is like a a reason for that. And the fact they aren't moving Bryant as of yet to a corner OF spot which he'd be well suited for leads me to believe Baez is the one who they are struggling to fit in which ultimately may mean he's the one that gets traded.

Parade_Rain said:

I'm trying to figure out why they would suggest Castro moving to 3B in 2015. Would Russell be ready in ST next year?

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I think you're talking 2 years minimum for Russell. He's barely played AA this year so he may have 1/2 a season there by the end of the year at 20. Next year he likely splits half in AA and AAA and *maybe* is considered for a call up like Bryant is now. However, the way they are talking about Bryant leads you to believe he's not coming up. So, if you apply the same logic to Russell, you're likely talking 2016 may-june at the earliest and potentially even later if any slip ups/injuries occur.

2323 said:

Honestly, I wouldn't be averse to trading Rizzo and sliding Bryant over to 1st. Not yet though. If Bryant is the tower of power that it appears he's going to be, I'd almost prefer to have him there just to minimize injury risk.

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You mean like when Derek Lee broke his wrist on a play at 1B?

I'm just going to say this. Cubs are in a real good problem but a good bit won't make it. The cubs realize this and I find it very hard to believe Castro is going anywhere until somebody pushes it.


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