The Chicago Cubs nabbed utility man Ben Zobrist on a four-year, $56 million deal Tuesday, according to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, and they wasted no time finding a taker for infielder Starlin Castro once that deal was finalized.
The New York Post‘s Joel Sherman was first with the news of Chicago’s trade with the New York Yankees, and he broke down the move from both sides:
MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince confirmed the deal shortly before the Yankees made it official. CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reported pitcher Adam Warren and infielder Brendan Ryan were shipped to the Cubs in return for Castro.
Since debuting with the Cubs in 2010, Castro has been selected to the All-Star Game three times (2011, 2012 and 2014). But after batting .292 with 65 RBI while tying a career high with 14 home runs in 2014, Castro experienced a bit of a down year.
Over 151 appearances, Castro batted .265 with 11 home runs and 69 RBI while stealing just five bases. Additionally, Castro’s offensive wins above replacement total dipped from 3.0 in 2014 to 0.9 in 2015, according to Baseball-Reference.com.
“You know how baseball is,” Castro said on July 21, according to ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers. “It’s up and down. I have to keep grinding it out.”
While those numbers were concerning to a degree, it’s evident the Yankees saw an opportunity to snag a 25-year-old talent entering his prime who’s under team control through 2020.
According to Spotrac.com, Castro is due $7 million in 2016, $9 million in 2017, $10 million in 2018 and $11 million in 2019 before he’s due a $16 million club option in 2020.
Jack Curry of the YES Network broke down the financial impact of Tuesday’s deal:
Furthermore, Castro experienced a revival at the plate throughout the second half of the season. Following the All-Star break, Castro hit .295 with a .319 on-base percentage. He primarily played second base for the last two months of the season, which means Zobrist will likely fill in there while Addison Russell starts at shortstop for the Cubs.
With the Yankees, Castro is expected to start at second base since Didi Gregorius occupies the shortstop post.
His shaky first half to 2015 aside, Castro has proved capable of batting in the .290-.300 range, as the 2010, 2011 and 2014 seasons indicated. And at this rate, it’s realistic to expect those campaigns to be the rule, not the exception.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.
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