The Chicago Cubs (71-51) have climbed back into the NL Central discussion and are only 6.5 games behind the first-place St. Louis Cardinals. Shortstop Starlin Castro lost his starting job earlier this month and since then the team has gone 12-3. Is Chicago considering a trade for Castro?
Trade rumors engulfed Castro for a long time, particularly after the Cubs acquired Addison Russell from the Oakland Athletics last July. Even though Castro wasn't moved before the MLB's non-waiver deadline, there's still a chance he gets traded before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline.
"Starlin Castro's name hit the revocable waiver wire a couple days ago, and with his very poor performance this year, he'd very likely clear waivers," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
It's been an all-time low for Castro in 2015. His defense has seemingly failed to improve in his sixth MLB season and he's batting just .239/.272/.306 with 35 runs scored, 5 home runs and 46 RBIs in 116 games, which where the issue lies.
"He may not be so easy to trade now, however, as the Cubs aren't a team that likes to sell low."
"Castro has shifted to a utility role for Chicago and is still owed $38MM, but is obviously a significant talent and is just 25 years old," Jeff Todd of MLBTradeRumors.com adds. "While the Cubs now seem determined to go with Addison Russell at short in the near term and the long term, an August trade of Castro still seems unlikely."
But then again, why is a trade unlikely and how can the Cubs not possibly sell low? Castro is no longer an everyday player, so at this point it's unclear how he can improve his value if he isn't getting the necessary playing time to improve his current standing. Also, if they call up prospect Javier Baez in September then he'll probably see even less time.
Waiting until the offseason to trade Castro won't make a considerable difference (if any at all) because his performance is not going to drastically change between now and November. He's signed through 2019 and at 25 years old he's under a team-friendly contract, but it's one the Cubs don't need to pay.
Unfortunately, Chicago is simply in a bad situation with Castro and there's not much the organization can do. The club has vastly exceeded expectations this season and currently sits six games ahead of the San Francisco Giants for the second NL wild-card spot. Castro is clearly no longer an integral part of those plans and his new spot on the bench is not going to help his trade value.
The only benefit of waiting until the offseason is that other MLB teams may change their minds regarding some of their incumbent players, which may open the door for a Castro deal. Otherwise, trading him now and getting the move off their chest seems like the best move the Cubs can make.
