To no surprise, the Chicago Cubs are the subject of trade rumors as the offseason continues to progress. In their quest to build a formidable starting rotation, rumors suggest Javier Baez and Jorge Soler may fall victim to that process.
Of the plentiful young players the Cubs organization possesses, it looks like those two are the ones the front office is most likely to part ways with.
"The Cubs do not intend to move third baseman Kris Bryant, shortstop Addison Russell or left fielder Kyle Schwarber, but will at least explore the trade interest they are getting in right fielder Jorge Soler and infielder Javier Baez, sources say," writes FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
"Moving one of those hitters only would make sense if the return was a pitcher of similar age, service and talent. The risk for the Cubs in addressing their pitching needs solely through the free-agent market is that they could end up with an old rotation quickly.
"Starlin Castro would not bring back the same type of young pitcher as Baez or Soler, but he batted .295 with a .783 OPS in the second half. Playing second base seemed to relax him, and he still will only be 26 next season."
"Starlin Castro will be the team's second baseman. They are getting calls of interest on Javier Baez," Jon Heyman of CBS Sports added in a piece last week.
None of this is particularly shocking. There's no reason for them to trade soon-to-be NL Rookie of the Year Kris Bryant or shortstop of the future Addison Russell. Schwarber, despite not having a clear-cut position in the field, is also unlikely to be moved because of his wondrous offensive potential.
That leaves Baez and Soler, both of whom have great upside but also a number of flaws. Both hitters strike out a ton and have yet to fully develop on defense. Baez has been moved all around the infield during his 86 games with the Cubs and Soler is regarded as a below average defender in right field. Additionally, the two have played in just 205 regular season MLB games combined.
However, both showed they were capable of performing in the postseason, which is something that teams will find valuable. Baez was garnering interest prior to this year's trade deadline, so it's possible the Cubs find a suitor that can give them a starting pitcher to deepen the rotation. Although he doesn't have a position to call home right now, he's shown he's capable of playing second, shortstop and third.
In 28 games with Chicago in 2015, the 22-year-old Baez batted .289/.325/.408 with four runs scored, one home run and four RBI. His MLB stint this year was much more promising than his from 2014, during which he struck out 95 times in 213 at-bats and then endured a terrible offseason/spring training.
Soler, 23, hit .262/.324/.399 with 39 runs scored, 10 home runs and 47 RBI in 101 games. His offense came on in the playoffs when he logged an impressive .474/.600/.833 stat line with six runs scored, three home runs and five RBI in seven games. However, he posted a -1.3 dWAR during the regular season and he's highly injury-prone: he was limited to just 151 career minor league games from 2012-2014 because of various ailments.
While Rosenthal is probably much more correct than I am, I would like to disagree with the fact that Castro wouldn't bring back as good as a pitcher as Baez or Soler. I'm actually not even disagreeing with Rosenthal - it's more so my discontent regarding the MLB trade market.
Castro, 25, is an everyday MLB starter who is owed $40 million over the next four seasons. He owns a career stat line of .281/.321/.404 in 891 games and he a three-time All-Star. His awful first half of 2015 should not dictate his value as an everyday player.
In this day and age, it's clear a number of MLB clubs would be ecstatic to acquire someone who can play a middle infield position on a daily basis and also produce solid offensive numbers.
But many say the cost for Castro is prohibitive. Really? A rate of $10 million per season from ages 26-29 is too much money? Maybe for a small market team, but for clubs whose payrolls exceed $100 million? Get a grip, world.
The MLB is currently paying pitchers - perhaps the most risky long-term investment due to the rise of elbow injuries - an absurd rate. Jon Lester has a career 3.55 ERA and he'll be making at least $25 million per year from 2016-2019. The Yankees paid $175 million for Masahiro Tanaka, who had never pitched an inning in the MLB. Max Scherzer, a great pitcher who took advantage of the market, signed a $210 million deal with just two seasons under his belt where he sported an ERA under 3.50 as a full-time starter (and one under a 3.15 ERA).
So Starlin Castro has an uncharacteristic 1.5 seasons of baseball and now all of a sudden he's a burden on a team and a payroll? I don't particularly have a stance on Castro, but I don't understand why he's all of a sudden a sunk cost having played 891 games in his first six MLB seasons and only logging a negative WAR once back in 2013.
I could be wrong.
Just know that Baez or Soler could be traded this offseason for pitching help.
