It's no secret the Chicago Cubs have a surplus of middle infielders, which include Starlin Castro, Javier Baez, Addison Russell, Arismendy Alcantara and others. Recent rumors suggest the team could trade one of them, but who will it be?
Because of the unprecedented amount of transactions conducted during the offseason, many are speculating this could be one of the more active trade deadlines due to the plentiful premiere impending free agents. A lot of teams are also dealing with logjams at certain positions, which is where the Cubs fall.
President of baseball operations Theo Epstein recently noted "big trades" could be coming.
Castro is the team's starting shortstop, but Chicago traded for Russell last season in a deal with the Oakland Athletics and it appears he could be ready for his MLB debut soon. He batted .317/.349/.488 with six runs scored, one home run, six RBIs and two stolen bases in 13 spring training games and is continuing that offensive success right now at Triple-A Iowa.
If Russell continues to progress, could the Cubs consider a trade for Castro?
"My number one player who should be traded is [Chicago Cubs shortstop] Starlin Castro because they have Addison Russell, who is a better shortstop and has more upside as a hitter, and frankly they just don't need all these young hitters on the team," ESPN Insider Eric Karabell said on SweetSpot TV. "Castro is still young enough where they can get something. There's an obvious match with the San Diego Padres."
But do they actually need to trade him?
"Starlin Castro, however, I wonder if they slide him over to second base," rebutted ESPN Insider David Schoenfield. "I don't know if Javier Baez is really the long-term answer there ... I do agree Russell is going to be the better player [than Castro]."
This could indeed be an option because Baez has struggled mightily since the end of last season. In 2014 he struck out 95 times in 229 plate appearances with Chicago, continued to have contact issues in the Puerto Rican Winter League, and then batted .182/.237/.236 with 21 strikeouts in 17 spring training games, which resulted in his demotion to Triple-A.
But even then, Karabell isn't so sure moving Castro is plausible.
"It's not so easy to switch positions," added Karabell. "I don't think Starlin Castro has ever played second base, and he clearly has more value in Major League Baseball as a shortstop, and since there are teams that desperately need a shortstop, like San Diego, it would seem to me that would be a nice match."
The timetable for Russell's arrival is unknown considering he just turned 21 years old and has played in only 10 Triple-A games. However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported earlier this month that the team loves Russell and believe he's ready.
Don't be surprised if the Cubs shake up their infield before this year's trade deadline.
