Should the Cubs deal Castro?

[Boobaby1]

I will soon find out if I am in the minority here or not, but I think the Cubs could fill a much needed void if they dealt Castro.

He is tied to a modest contract, plays mediocre defense at best, deals with mental lapses on the field, and the rest of the league knows he is considered a core piece for the Cubs.

The Cubs have Alcantara in AA Tennessee and Baez at A+ Daytona, so it isn't as if they don't have a couple of shortstops in the system. I know neither play a stellar defense, but Castro doesn't either.

Stephen Drew would be available next year and his defense is far superior and has made 1 error in 159 total chances. That is pretty stout, and he probably could be tied to a 2 year deal.

I guess where I am going with this is maybe the quickest way to get some players needed on this team, the brass might have to deal someone deemed of having value for the Cubs and between Rizzo or Castro, I would choose Castro.

Surely he would have to net a fair package in return from some team.

Any thoughts?

 

[CSF77]

Yes.

Main reason is he is still young and some team would gamble on him.

2nd reason is his SS D is leaky.

Cubs to be perfectly honest need talent. Castro has return value.

Team that comes to mind is the Yanks again. Jeter is how old?

If I could get Gary Sanchez and a arm done deal.

Oh I'd rent a SS D wiz until Baez was ready. SS IMO D comes above production with the amount of balls in play that go that way. Worth the investment.

But if you are going to build for the future and Soler and Baez are the guys then getting a top Catcher at the same level and promoting along side makes sense. Hell of 3 core players upwelling vs another 30 error season with a sub .330 OBA at a D position.

 

[Mr. Cub]

Even though he seems to be a little off at the plate this year so far, I would say no. I am a biased fan of his though so I don't know if my opinion counts haha

 

[brett05]

I'd definitely trade Castro before Rizzo.

 

[JosMin]

Oh, absolutely. Because anytime you have a 23-year-old shortstop who routinely hits .300, can swipe bases and has a very team-friendly contract through 2020 -- you have to do it.

Using Stephen Drew as a talent barometer isn't very insightful -- he's 7 years older then Castro and will be commanding a salary upwards of $10 MM annually. Sure, he's defensively superior to Castro, but we'll be replacing his bat with a guy who hasn't played more than 80 games the last two seasons and is hitting a blistering .221 right now. I'll pass.

 

[CSF77]

I'd definitely trade Castro before Rizzo.

Don't think that was the question but I agree. Castro was a early in house development. Rizzo cost a top of the rotation arm.

Production wise Castro is more proven then Rizzo. Rizzo has not hit 30 HR's yet. Castro has a 200 hit season and has been a all star more then once.

 

[CSF77]

Oh, absolutely. Because anytime you have a 23-year-old shortstop who routinely hits .300, can swipe bases and has a very team-friendly contract through 2020 -- you have to do it.

Using Stephen Drew as a talent barometer isn't very insightful -- he's 7 years older then Castro and will be commanding a salary upwards of $10 MM annually. Sure, he's defensively superior to Castro, but we'll be replacing his bat with a guy who hasn't played more than 80 games the last two seasons and is hitting a blistering .221 right now. I'll pass.

Career line: .294/.332/.420 90 Errors Rook year 27 2nd year 29 3rd year 27 this year 7 after 2 months. Not really a solid track record at a higher D demand spot on the field.

Hitting #2 OBA has high priory:
2010 .347
2011 .341
2012: .323
2013: .303

He is getting worse at getting on base.

He is over rated.

 

[CSF77]

Shortstops

Alfredo Amezaga (36)
Clint Barmes (35)
Yuniesky Betancourt (32)
Willie Bloomquist (36)
Jamey Carroll (40) - $2MM vesting option with a $250K buyout
Alexi Casilla (29) -$3MM club option with $200K buyout
Stephen Drew (31)
Yunel Escobar (31) - $5MM club option
Rafael Furcal (36)
Alex Gonzalez (36)
Cesar Izturis (34)
Derek Jeter (40) - $8MM+ player option with a $3MM buyout
John McDonald (39)
Jhonny Peralta (32)
Brendan Ryan (32)

Jeter will be up for F/A. Yanks might over pay to get Castro. I wouldn't accept less then Gary Sanchez. I'd take a flyer on Izturis or Furcal for a year or 2 until Baez hits the team.

 

[KBisBack!]

Oh, absolutely. Because anytime you have a 23-year-old shortstop who routinely hits .300, can swipe bases and has a very team-friendly contract through 2020 -- you have to do it.
.

Only he doesn't hit .300 'routinely'. Hasn't hit .300 since 2011. His rookie year he hit exactly .300 and has never hit over .310.

He hit .283 last year while leading the league in Caught Stealing and had EIGHT more errors than any other SS.

I started talking last year about how he seems to be regressing at the plate and was told I was being ridiculous. He is even worse this year so far than last year and by a pretty significant margin.

He might be the most overrated player in all of baseball.

 

[X]

Only he doesn't hit .300 'routinely'. Hasn't hit .300 since 2011. His rookie year he hit exactly .300 and has never hit over .310.

He hit .283 last year while leading the league in Caught Stealing and had EIGHT more errors than any other SS.

I started talking last year about how he seems to be regressing at the plate and was told I was being ridiculous. He is even worse this year so far than last year and by a pretty significant margin.

He might be the most overrated player in all of baseball.

WHOA.... the last part is a bit much.

And it's humorous that some of the same people that complain regularly about 'tanking seasons' are entertaining the idea of trading one of the best players on the team. What kind of return could we get on Shark and Rizzo, too? Probably Gary Sanchez.

 

[patg006]

Yes.

Main reason is he is still young and some team would gamble on him.

2nd reason is his SS D is leaky.

Cubs to be perfectly honest need talent. Castro has return value.

Team that comes to mind is the Yanks again. Jeter is how old?

If I could get Gary Sanchez and a arm done deal.

Oh I'd rent a SS D wiz until Baez was ready. SS IMO D comes above production with the amount of balls in play that go that way. Worth the investment.

But if you are going to build for the future and Soler and Baez are the guys then getting a top Catcher at the same level and promoting along side makes sense. Hell of 3 core players upwelling vs another 30 error season with a sub .330 OBA at a D position.

Probably could have happened a year ago, probably couldnt happen now. I would have done Castro for Madison Bumgarner with the Giants (this brings me horrible memories of that idiot tigers fan who said Porcello was better than Bumgarner on CBS.) Now they have Brandon Crawford playing above average.

There would be interest, but I dont like any pitching on the yanks. Ivan Nova is entering 'bust' territory, and Phil Hughes is a free agent. I know radio shows and many fans covet Castro.

I want starting pitching. So realistically--Castro in a deal for David Price would be something I consider. That means keeping Baez and likely dealing Almora or Soler.

 

[kchicub08]

Shortstops

Alfredo Amezaga (36)
Clint Barmes (35)
Yuniesky Betancourt (32)
Willie Bloomquist (36)
Jamey Carroll (40) - $2MM vesting option with a $250K buyout
Alexi Casilla (29) -$3MM club option with $200K buyout
Stephen Drew (31)
Yunel Escobar (31) - $5MM club option
Rafael Furcal (36)
Alex Gonzalez (36)
Cesar Izturis (34)
Derek Jeter (40) - $8MM+ player option with a $3MM buyout
John McDonald (39)
Jhonny Peralta (32)
Brendan Ryan (32)

Jeter will be up for F/A. Yanks might over pay to get Castro. I wouldn't accept less then Gary Sanchez. I'd take a flyer on Izturis or Furcal for a year or 2 until Baez hits the team.

Agreed. and peralta sure picked the right time to have a good year.

 

[kchicub08]

I';

WHOA.... the last part is a bit much.

And it's humorous that some of the same people that complain regularly about 'tanking seasons' are entertaining the idea of trading one of the best players on the team. What kind of return could we get on Shark and Rizzo, too? Probably Gary Sanchez.

I'll agree that most overrated is over the top BUT where would he rank on a good team? He does look better then he is because this team is bad.

 

[CSF77]

WHOA.... the last part is a bit much.

And it's humorous that some of the same people that complain regularly about 'tanking seasons' are entertaining the idea of trading one of the best players on the team. What kind of return could we get on Shark and Rizzo, too? Probably Gary Sanchez.

If Castro was putting up .350 OBA with less then 20 errors per I wouldn't conciser it. Again I'd rather get a glove man at SS.

 

[CSF77]

I';

I'll agree that most overrated is over the top BUT where would he rank on a good team? He does look better then he is because this team is bad.

Bingo.

 

[CSF77]

Probably could have happened a year ago, probably couldnt happen now. I would have done Castro for Madison Bumgarner with the Giants (this brings me horrible memories of that idiot tigers fan who said Porcello was better than Bumgarner on CBS.) Now they have Brandon Crawford playing above average.

There would be interest, but I dont like any pitching on the yanks. Ivan Nova is entering 'bust' territory, and Phil Hughes is a free agent. I know radio shows and many fans covet Castro.

I want starting pitching. So realistically--Castro in a deal for David Price would be something I consider. That means keeping Baez and likely dealing Almora or Soler.

Tough call man. Right now Baez is at 24 Errors, Alcantara is at 18 this year. Baez has 30 HR potential so I could see him getting moved to LF to be honest if he can't get it under control. Alcantara I wouldn't expect much out of him.

SS is a D position bottom line. I believe it is better to get a GG type there and bat him #7-8 vs putting an error machine out there. As long as the corners are built for run production this is not a problem. SS by far gets more action to justify it.

As far as return value. I get the wanting Price but this team is a few years away from any talent worth waiting for is here.

AAA Vitters maybe. Jackson looks bust.
AA Szczur...4th OF. Alcantara another error machine.
A+ Soler KLAW bumped him up to #21. He is showing strong plate discipline for being out of baseball for a year.
Baez has alot of swing and miss going on but his tool set is top end.

A Almora is a hitting machine that takes walks. He looks the #2 hitter part vs Castro.

So getting a top of the rotation to push the current turd fest going on?

Realistically wouldn't do it. They are too far away from being a .500 team.



Now setting up the talent to crash in at the same time makes sense. Like draft Appel and set him up to promote with Baez and Soler. Bump up Almora to their level. Get Appel, Mapeles and Johnson near that point. Trade Castro out for Gary (dreaming here)

Then over turn the team at that point with 2B/SS set up a D spec. This would leave 3B as the question. Vitters or Lake might nail it down by then or sped on a proven one.

 

[X]

I';

I'll agree that most overrated is over the top BUT where would he rank on a good team? He does look better then he is because this team is bad.

That part, I agree with. I also agree that he's overrated by Cubs fans -- but I don't believe he's overrated nationally.

Here's where I stand on Castro.

He makes errors, however I believe he's at the point where he will start making fewer and fewer. He'll probably never be a GG candidate, but he can improve. His Fielding % actually HAS improved every season, including this season, and has never been below 95%.

In hits, he led the league in 2011 (at 21 years old), and was top 15 least season.

He NEEDS to take more walks, and he will as he ages and the talent around him gets better.

The kid is still a kid, trying to be an offensive leader on a bad team. Most SS improve defensively as they age (Jeter, Rollins, Tulo all have, for example).

long story short, I don't believe trading him is very beneficial -- unless of course we get a ridiculous haul for him. But given his rather team-friendly deal going forward, I don't see the Cubs shopping him at all.

 

[brett05]

Don't think that was the question but I agree. Castro was a early in house development. Rizzo cost a top of the rotation arm.

Production wise Castro is more proven then Rizzo. Rizzo has not hit 30 HR's yet. Castro has a 200 hit season and has been a all star more then once.

Someone made some sort of comment earlier.

I agree that Castro is more polished. But I tend to see Castro as reached his ceiling. Rizzo to me has a much higher ceiling and has been showing gradual laddering on the way to reaching it.

 

[X]

Someone made some sort of comment earlier.

I agree that Castro is more polished. But I tend to see Castro as reached his ceiling. Rizzo to me has a much higher ceiling and has been showing gradual laddering on the way to reaching it.

You think Castro's reached his ceiling @ 23 years and 2 months old?

 

[brett05]

You think Castro's reached his ceiling @ 23 years and 2 months old?

Honestly, I kinda do. I don't see him as ever being a 20 tater guy, nor being a 30 SB guy. I really still see him moving out of the SS position at some point in his career. (If the greatest SS of all time did - Arod to 3b - Certainly Castro is a candidate)