The ascension of Chicago Cubs' prospect Addison Russell and the offensive struggles of shortstop Starlin Castro made for plentiful trade rumors this season. Chicago couldn't find any suitors for Castro, who was benched in August in favor of Russell, but his recent improvement may force the Cubs to re-think their stance on him.
Castro was batting just .236 when he lost the starting shortstop job on Aug. 7. His offensive performance this season has by far been the worst of his career, and it couldn't have come at a more inopportune time considering the Cubs had internal options to replace him and could even afford to trade him.
The 25-year-old is now a part-time player as he continues to work on his offensive and defensive flaws. And here's the catch: over that span he's batting .354 with eight runs scored, two home runs and six RBIs in 25 games (66 plate appearances), including a career-high four-RBI night against the Cardinals on Tuesday.
"He's rested, too," Maddon told Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com. "We're trying to put him in the right spots. He looks fresh."
Rogers noted Maddon is working on exposing Castro to move favorable pitching matchups as the infielder is making mechanical changes in his swing.
"The ball is coming off the bat hotter," Maddon also told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
"The biggest difference is that Castro, who is playing more at second base, no longer is vulnerable to outside pitches that often resulted in double plays or feeble grounders," Gonzales added. "He's able to cover the plate and finally is driving the ball to right on outside pitches."
With that being said, if his improvements can take hold over a larger sample size (assuming he'll be playing more as he produces offensively), will the Cubs find a way to utilize him as a starter, or will they trade him while his value is increasing?
There's absolutely no telling at this point. When Castro was benched, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said the youngster still remained an important part of the team. Castro was also open to assuming the part-time role, which showed maturity and self-awareness in a player who has been previously viewed as immature and lazy.
Maddon has so much flexibility with the Cubs' lineup, further making this scenario all too difficult to predict. Kris Bryant has been used both at third base and the outfield; Kyle Schwarber at both catcher and the outfield; prospect Javier Baez has already played second, third and shortstop in just seven games since being called up; Russell has played second and shortstop; and Castro has gotten his first MLB reps at second base in his career over the past month.
But here's the most important (potential) aspect of it all: The performance of Javier Baez for the rest of the year will likely be indicative of how the Cubs plan to handle Castro.
The 22-year-old Baez is batting .286/.348/.524 with two runs scored, one home run and three RBIs in seven games with the Cubs this year. He experienced a resurgence at Triple-A Iowa (.324/.385/.527 with 49 runs scored, 13 home runs, 61 RBIs and 17 stolen bases) after struggling mightily at the end of last year and throughout the offseason.
Baez's defense could specifically be an immediate threat to Castro's future in Chicago.
"He falls out of bed and can play defense," Maddon said of Baez, via Gonzales. "It's incredible to watch how smooth he is and how comfortable he is at all these different positions. His arm, how smooth he is -- he's just different. I don't know if we've had anyone quite that comfortable on the infield, especially at that age (22)."
If Baez continues to show he can be the team's second baseman next season, then Castro could be officially on the outside looking in. If the Cubs' infield consists of Baez, Russell and Bryant in 2016, it's unlikely they keep Castro, who is owed over $40 million through 2019, in a part-time role.
So, in the meantime, Castro's success in a part-time role could be a fleeting moment. He may be a big contributor to the team's postseason run this year, but he could be gone before 2016.
