It's possible the Starlin Castro era in Chicago could be over soon. Cubs' manager Joe Maddon benched the 25-year-old on Saturday and rookie Addison Russell served as the team's starting shortstop, which may not make Castro happy moving forward.
On top of the rumors surrounding the potential big changes coming to the Cubs' roster when catcher Miguel Montero (already back) and second baseman Tommy La Stella are activated from the disabled list, there will now be more trade rumors engulfing Castro even after the non-waiver deadline.
"Castro said if he was asked to play other positions he would want to talk to [the] team's front office," according to Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com.
It's clear Russell is the Cubs' preferred option for the future, but it's unknown when that change will come. Levine also noted Maddon "prefers one shortstop, not a rotation at the position" and he "may ask Castro to do other things," likely because of his struggles this season both on offense and defense.
"Castro said nobody from the Cubs has talked to him yet about possibly switching positions, but Maddon said they have started internal discussions about different possibilities," adds Tony Andracki of CSN Chicago.
Additionally, middle infielder Javier Baez may soon join the Cubs' roster, which will further crowd the situation at shortstop and second base.
"Baez also figures to be in the mix at some point. He has played well at Class AAA Iowa since coming back from a finger injury suffered early in the season," writes Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald.
President of baseball operations Theo Epstein told Andracki that Castro's recent benching doesn't "at all" affect his status with the organization, but that could change if the team wants to use him elsewhere on the field.
Castro is batting .236/.271/.304 with 34 runs scored, 5 home runs and 46 RBIs in 104 games this season, which is easily the worst offensive campaign/stretch of his career. Trade rumors suggested the Cubs were dangling Castro in offers prior to the non-waiver deadline, but the team only made two minor moves before 4 p.m. ET on July 31.
Russell got the start again at shortstop on Sunday against the San Francisco Giants, so it's possible big changes are already underway in Chicago.
