Kuzul

The New York Yankees made the biggest splash of their otherwise subdued offseason when they acquired a Cuban-born player. That’d be flamethrowing closer Aroldis Chapman, whom they netted in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds.

Now, with spring training so close you can smell the sunscreen and fresh-cut grass, the Yanks can grab another game-changing Cuban. And while there’s risk and red tape involved, New York should pounce as soon as possible.

Yulieski Gourriel. Learn to spell it, learn to say it, because it’s a name you’ll be hearing a lot. The 31-year-old Gourriel and his younger brother, Lourdes, recently defected and are seeking big league deals, per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.

Because of his age and service time, Sanchez added, the elder Gourriel is exempt from international signing guidelines. In other words, he’s a free agent, though there are hurdles and complications, as we’ll get to in a moment.

An infielder who’s played the bulk of his innings at third base, Gourriel owns a career .333/.415/.576 slash line with 235 home runs in 849 Cuban National Series contests and is “widely regarded as the top player on the island,” per Ben Strauss of the New York Times.

Gourriel most recently turned heads at the Caribbean Series in Puerto Rico. 

“Some scouts consider him a plus-defender with plus-makeup and instincts,” Sanchez wrote in a dispatch from the tournament on Feb. 6, 2015. “He’s also surprised a few scouts with his speed on the bases. There’s belief that he could hit .300 in the major leagues with 40 doubles tomorrow.”

Two days after finishing this year’s Caribbean Series, Strauss reported, the Gourriel brothers walked out of their hotel in the Dominican Republic and into the presumably open arms of MLB.

Yulieski represents a tantalizing, instant-impact option for many clubs, but he should particularly excite the Yankees, who could use another bat and are facing uncertainty in the infield.

First baseman Greg Bird is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. Mark Teixeira, bounce-back 2015 campaign aside, turns 36 in April and will likely need reps at designated hitter to stay healthy and productive. The same, and then some, goes for Alex Rodriguez, who is entering his age-41 season.

Chase Headley can handle both corner-infield positions, but he’s coming off a dormant season in the Bronx that saw him post a pedestrian .693 OPS and hit just three home runs after the All-Star break.

The point is, there’s room for Gourriel. And if he can translate the power and on-base capabilities he flashed in Cuba, he’ll take pressure off the Yanks’ cast of creaky veterans.

OK, back to those complications that could stall Gourriel’s debut in pinstripes or any other uniform. While Yulieski, as mentioned, is free from international signing restrictions, there are still ponderous hoops to jump through, as Baseball America‘s Ben Badler outlined:

While MLB no longer requires Cuban players to obtain a specific license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), there is still a bottleneck in the time between when players apply for free agency and when the commissioner’s office clears them to sign. … the lag time can still take months, and with more Cuban players going through that process than ever before, that window might continue to grow.

Badler speculates it could be up to seven months before the elder Gourriel can sign, which would eliminate his chances of contributing this season. 

It’s possible the process could move more quickly, however. And it’s not as if the Yankees’ need for a corner-infield thumper will diminish next season, when their veterans will be a year older and the free-agent pool will be much shallower than this winter’s.

Speaking of which, whenever he becomes available, Gourriel is guaranteed to draw widespread interest.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post confirmed that “the Yankees’ international scouting director, Donny Rowland, has long liked Yulieski.” 

However, as Sherman added, “he can be bid on without restrictions by all 30 teams, and because he has drawn comps to players such as Adrian Beltre and Bobby Grich, he likely will have many suitors.”

Many suitors equals many dollars. Think somewhere in the neighborhood of the six-year, $68 million deal the Chicago White Sox gave Jose Abreu or the seven-year, $72.5 million pact Rusney Castillo inked with the Boston Red Sox. The length could be shorter due to Gourriel’s age, but he’ll undoubtedly get paid.

There are no guarantees about production. The above comparisons are instructive, in fact. Abreu was an instant star, clubbing at least 30 home runs and compiling at least 100 RBI in each of his first two big league seasons. Castillo, on the other hand, is still looking to break through at age 28.

Gourriel is older and theoretically more polished. The scouts like him and the stats jump off the page. But it’s possible he’ll fizzle on baseball’s biggest stage. That’s always a risk with international players, no matter the hype and pedigree.

Once upon a time, the Yankees were the club that stared risk in the face and laughed maniacally. The franchise that handed out cartoonish checks as a hobby.

Those days are temporarily over as New York and general manager Brian Cashman wait out some albatross contracts and rebuild the farm system. 

Then again, there’s no such thing as a rebuild at 1 E 161st St. The Yankees are always focused on winning, and Gourriel could help them do exactly that in a balanced AL East.

“I’ve played 12 years in Cuba and now I want to play outside,” Gourriel said prior to his defection, per MLB.com’s Sanchez. “I want to see what it’s like and improve.”

Even if all he does is approach his Cuban output, he’ll be fine. And he’d look more than fine in the Yankees lineup, quiet offseason be damned.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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Mariano Rivera helped the New York Yankees win five World Series, and many consider him to be the game’s greatest closer. As such, he’ll become the 37th Bronx Bomber to receive a plaque in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park this summer, according to the Associated Press.

Rivera is Major League Baseball’s all-time leader with 652 regular-season saves, but his dominance in the postseason, where he holds career bests in both ERA (0.70 over 141 innings) and saves (42), was even more impressive.

Rivera closed out three of the Yankees’ five World Series-clinching wins (1998, 1999 and 2000).

Mike Foss of USA Today put Rivera’s dominance into context:

More people have walked on the moon (12) than men who have scored against Mariano Rivera in the postseason (11). … Mariano Rivera has been pitching in the postseason since [1995]. The Apollo Program launched in 1963 and concluded in 1972.

In other words, Rivera has been clutch in the postseason for [eight] years longer than NASA was clutch at sending Astronauts to the moon.

The Yankees retired Rivera’s No. 42 during his final season in 2013, marking the last time it would ever be used. MLB retired the number throughout the big leagues in 1997 to honor Jackie Robinson, though all players who were already wearing it at the time were allowed to keep it, and none lasted as long as Rivera.

The Yankees will hold the sure-fire Hall of Famer’s plaque ceremony Sunday, Aug. 14, before their game against the Tampa Bay Rays and celebrate their 1996 team, with whom Rivera won his first ring, a day earlier.

Rivera, 46, will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2017.

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New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka is inching closer to a full return to the mound after undergoing elbow surgery in October. It appears he could be ready to pitch in time for Opening Day.

Continue for updates.

Tanaka Comments on Recovery Timeline

Friday, Feb. 12

Tanaka told Erik Boland of Newsday that he’s “perfectly healthy,” though he’s uncertain about Opening Day. He added, “Can’t say for sure just because…I’m building myself up toward the season.”

Tanaka Throws off Bullpen Mound for the 1st Time

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild confirmed Tuesday that Tanaka’s rehabilitation remains on track this spring, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com).

Tanaka Battling Injuries Throughout Short MLB Career

Tanaka’s arm issues go back to July 2014, when he was diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Generally, Tommy John surgery is the next step, but Tanaka and the Yankees opted against that approach, and the All-Star pitcher returned in September.

However, he headed back to the disabled list late last April and missed all of May before coming back on June 3 against the Seattle Mariners. The arm problems persisted, leading to his eventual surgery.

Not only will Tanaka play a big role in the Yankees’ playoff hopes in 2016, but the team is also paying him $22 million annually for the next four years and then $23 million in 2020. New York won’t get anything close to a return on that investment if Tanaka’s injuries keep affecting his performance going forward.

Judging by his continued progress, it looks as though the Japanese star will be ready for Opening Day on April 4. Both the team and Yankees fans alike will be monitoring his every move during his rehab throughout spring training to ensure he doesn’t suffer any setbacks.

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The 2016 season hasn’t even started yet, and the injury bug has already taken a bite out of the New York Yankees. 

And now, they really have to hope it doesn’t come back for them again. 

The day’s bad news involves Greg Bird. Joel Sherman of the New York Post was the first to tease Monday afternoon that the 23-year-old first baseman had been lost for 2016 due to shoulder surgery. Not long after, the Yankees made it official.

Gut, meet punch.

Bird went into the 2015 season as one of the more well-regarded first base prospects in the minor leagues, and he further boosted his stock as he ascended up the ranks. After OPS’ing .825 with 12 home runs in 83 games at Double-A and Triple-A, he broke through with an .871 OPS and 11 home runs in 43 major league games.

In any other organization, a breakout performance like that likely would have netted Bird a starting role going into the 2016 season. But with Mark Teixeira at first base and Alex Rodriguez at designated hitter, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said earlier this winter that the plan for 2016 called for Bird to spend the year at Triple-A.

“That’s the optimal,” Cashman said, per the Ken Davidoff of the New York Daily News. “Not for Bird, but optimally period, that would be the best.”

But though this may have been the plan, it certainly wasn’t hard to imagine Bird being needed at the major league level in 2016. And now that he’s out of the picture, you can’t help but imagine how much the Yankees might end up missing him.

Take a look at what the Yankees have on paper, and you’ll see a team that could be pretty good in 2016. In fact, FanGraphs projects them to be right in the thick of the American League playoff race with an 86-76 record. 

For that projection to come true, however, the Yankees will need to stay reasonably durable. Trouble is, they’re not exactly built to be reasonably durable.

In their lineup alone, the Yankees have seven regulars who are going into at least their age-32 seasons. The elder statesmen of the bunch are Teixeira, A-Rod and Carlos Beltran, who also might be the three biggest injury risks in the Yankees lineup.

Beltran is going into his age-39 season and has played in just 242 games over the last two seasons due to injuries. Rodriguez is going into his age-40 season, and his track record since 2008 says it’ll be a minor miracle if he repeats his 2015 feat of playing in over 150 games. Teixeira is going into his age-36 season and hasn’t played in a full season since 2011.

Unless Bird got some playing time in right field in the minors this year, he presumably wouldn’t have been called on to fill in for an injured Beltran. But he almost certainly would have been called on to fill in for an injured A-Rod or Teixeira and might have proved to be an upgrade over either of them.

As Rotoworld’s Matthew Pouliot tweeted, he actually had Bird projected for a higher OPS than Teixeira going into 2016:

He’s not the only one. FanGraphs’ projections actually hard Bird pegged for a higher OPS than both Teixeira and Rodriguez. 

When looking at Bird did in 2015, this isn’t all that hard to believe. The numbers that he put up obviously look pretty good, but what makes them look even better is how he produced them. 

Though Bird did swing and miss a bit in posting a 29.8 K%, he also showed a strong eye in posting a 10.7 BB%. He also very much earned his .527 slugging percentage, as Baseball Savant can show us that Bird’s average exit velocity put him in very elite company:

Given this, it’s no wonder that the lefty-swinging Bird didn’t need Yankee Stadium’s short porch to pad his power numbers in 2015. He slugged .459 at home and .611 on the road.

This certainly poses a question for the long run. With Teixeira’s contract set to expire at the end of 2016, Bird figures to be the Yankees’ starting first baseman when he returns in 2017. But because power has been known to need more than a year of recovery time following shoulder surgery, the Yankees have reason to worry whether Bird will be up to the task of filling Teixeira’s shoes.

In the short term, meanwhile, a more pressing question is whether any of their depth pieces could have the kind of impact in 2016 that Bird might have had. And it’s a good question.

Matt Snyder of CBS Sports highlighted Dustin Ackley and Brian McCann as the top backup options for Teixeira. The first is a subpar hitter, and the latter is a natural catcher who’s been roughly an average hitter over the last four seasons. That is, neither figures to be the Johnny-on-the-spot game-changer that Bird could have been.

In the minor leagues, the Yankees’ two most MLB-ready prospects are right fielder Aaron Judge and catcher Gary Sanchez. Judge could be a fill-in option for A-Rod or Beltran, and Sanchez could move behind the plate if McCann is needed at first or at DH. However, Judge was last seen getting a reality check at the Triple-A level, and it was only a year ago that Sanchez’s stock was on ice.

All this is to say that Bird’s season-ending surgery only gives the Yankees another reason to hope and pray for good health in 2016. They already had their chips on an alarmingly old lineup even before Bird went down, and now they might as well be going all-in on an old lineup. They’re going to need their older hitters to fight the good fight against the injury bug.

If they can, the club might actually be able to live up to its fairly optimistic projections. If not, well, that’s probably not going to be so easy.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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New York Yankees first baseman Greg Bird will miss the entire 2016 season due to shoulder surgery, the team announced Monday.

Continue for updates.

Yanks Announce Bird Injury

Monday, Feb. 1

Bird, 23, was expected to compete for playing time at first base with the Yankees’ core veterans in 2016. The former fifth-round pick hit .261/.343/.529 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI last season after taking over for an injured Mark Teixeira in August. Playing solid enough defense, Bird produced 0.9 wins above replacement in 46 games, via FanGraphs—equivalent to what Teixeira put up in 2013 and 2014 combined.

Unfortunately, Bird remains stuck behind high-cost veterans organizationally. General manager Brian Cashman said in November that Bird was likely to begin the 2016 season in Triple-A Scranton if Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran were healthy.

“He’s blocked by some pretty significant players right now,” Cashman said, per Wallace Matthews of ESPN.com. “He’s not the only one in the game in this situation, you know.”

While Cashman is correct in that three famous players are ahead of Bird, it’s unclear if any of them are actually better at this point. Teixeira was solid in 2015 but largely miserable over his two previous seasons. Beltran was also fine last season, but few projection systems have him as much more than replacement level. Rodriguez is, well, Rodriguez—an enigmatic figure if there ever has been one.

Bird may have been able to outplay them in spring training to the point it was impossible to keep him off the major league roster. Instead, a major injury will force continued inertia on New York’s side. 

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Of ESPN’s first 10 announced Sunday Night Baseball telecasts for 2016, five feature either the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. Three feature the Yankees and the Red Sox.

You can’t blame the television guys, even if neither of those teams has won a playoff game in the past two years. ESPN shows the teams they know you’ll watch, and no matter how much some of you complain, plenty of you watch.

But here’s the other thing: This could be the year when Yankees-Red Sox games are actually worth watching again.

It’s not 2003-04. It probably won’t ever be like that again, with the Yankees and Red Sox meeting in back-to-back years in two of the most memorable American League Championship Series ever.

But it shouldn’t be 2014-15, either. It shouldn’t be a last-place Red Sox team facing a Yankees team that seemed happy just to stay in the race all summer. It shouldn’t be empty seats in both ballparks, an atmosphere more fit for Miami Marlins vs. Tampa Bay Rays than Yankees vs. Red Sox.

Instead, it could well end up with the Yankees and Red Sox at the top of the American League East (in one order or the other) for the first time since 2009, but the 12th time since 1995.

For the sake of everyone watching all of those Sunday night games, that’s not a bad thing.

It’s hardly guaranteed. The Red Sox are the division’s most improved team this winter, but they still have their issues (Hanley Ramirez). The Yankees worked the trade market well, but they still have their issues, too (Alex Rodriguez).

And while the defending AL East champion Toronto Blue Jays lost David Price to the Red Sox, they’ll in effect swap two months of Price for a full season of Marcus Stroman. Also, as former general manager Alex Anthopoulos pointed out to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Blue Jays’ big second half was in part based on an improved defense that will return in 2016.

“I think they can win the division,” Anthopoulos told Cafardo.

I think they can, too. But if two teams are going to finish in front of them, the Yankees and Red Sox could well be the two.

The Baltimore Orioles did a nice job keeping most of their team together, but it’s a team that finished .500 in 2015 and still hasn’t effectively replaced Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis. And the one free agent they didn’t keep this winter, left-hander Wei-Yin Chen, leaves their rotation looking thin.

The Tampa Bay Rays talked about trading one of their starters this winter, but as of now they still haven’t. So they have the best rotation in the division but still have a badly overmatched lineup. They may have overachieved to finish 80-82 last year.

Meanwhile, Dave Dombrowski had almost a dream first winter as Red Sox president, adding not only Price, but also closer Craig Kimbrel, setup man Carson Smith and outfielder Chris Young. If he’d been able to rid the Sox of their Hanley Ramirez mistake, it really would have been a dream.

By adding Price, the Red Sox acknowledged their 2015 plan of building a rotation without a true ace was a mistake. Price should help make all of the other starters better, just as he once did with the Rays and just as he did when he arrived in Toronto late last July.

That should help the Sox take advantage of an offense that scored the fourth-most runs in the major leagues last year, and of a defense that was much improved once they moved Ramirez out of left field and turned to talented youngsters Rusney Castillo, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts in the outfield. The bullpen, also an issue in 2015, should be transformed by adding Kimbrel, still one of the game’s best closers, and the hard-throwing Smith.

The Yankees, as Scott Miller pointed out in his fine offseason review this week on Bleacher Report, are one of just five teams that haven’t signed a single major league free agent. But general manager Brian Cashman stuck to his plan to make them younger and more athletic, trading for second baseman Starlin Castro, outfielder Aaron Hicks and closer Aroldis Chapman.

The Chapman-Andrew Miller-Dellin Betances back end of the bullpen will be fun to watch, just by itself. And even if Castro doesn’t prove to be this year’s version of Didi Gregorius (a young player the Yankees picked up at the right time), he still should be a significant improvement at a position where the Yankees got little production in 2015.

Even though they finished nine games ahead of the Red Sox in 2015, the Yankees are more at risk of big disappointment this summer. Every pitcher in their starting rotation has an issue of some kind, and much of their 2015 offensive revival was based on A-Rod (who will be 41 in July), Mark Teixeira (who will be 36 in April) and Carlos Beltran (who will be 39 in April). Chapman makes the bullpen more exciting, but the Yankees traded away Justin Wilson and Adam Warren.

As Joel Sherman wrote last November in the New York Post, the Yankees’ recent strategy has been focused much more on the future than on 2016. Owner Hal Steinbrenner didn’t exactly order an austerity plan, but he has said the big spending will need to wait until the contracts of Rodriguez, Teixeira, Beltran and CC Sabathia run out over the next couple of years.

The Red Sox tried the semi-austerity thing, but after three last-place finishes in four years, they went after Dombrowski and gave him the backing to go after Price. Perhaps the Yankees, despite no postseason wins since 2012, didn’t feel the same need.

Realistically, neither of these teams is the Evil Empire anymore. The American League Central is a stronger division overall than the East, and it’s the Kansas City Royals who are the two-time defending AL champions.

The Royals, incidentally, will appear in just one of those 10 announced Sunday night games on ESPN, when they host the New York Mets in an Opening Night World Series encore. Apparently the Yankees and Red Sox weren’t available.

You’ll see them soon enough. This year, it might even be worth watching.

Danny Knobler covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.

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Good things come to those who wait. When it comes to cashing in their trade assets, that should be the New York Yankees‘ guiding dogma.

All winter, trade whispers have swirled around Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner and reliever Andrew Miller. Yet even as they acquired outfielder Aaron Hicks from the Minnesota Twins and flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds, the Yanks held on to Gardner and Miller.

It’s a strategy they should continue at least to the July 31 trade deadline, when they’ll have an opportunity to cash Gardner and Miller in at maximum value.

Gardner has featured in various rumors, including this recent proposition by the Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo: “With outfield prospect Aaron Judge not far off, the Yankees could deal Brett Gardner for pitching. It’s plausible to imagine a Gardner-for-Andrew Heaney swap, considering Angels GM Billy Eppler was Brian Cashman’s assistant and likes Gardner’s defense, speed, and leadoff capability.”

If that deal was actually on the table, New York should consider pouncing. Heaney—a 24-year-old left-hander who posted a 3.49 ERA in 18 starts with the Halos last year—boasts considerable upside and would slot nicely into a Yankees rotation that’s crowded with question marks.

Cafardo, though, raises a larger point. Judge—the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect, per MLB.com—figures to make an impact on the big club at some point this season. But the slugging 23-year-old may need a bit more seasoning in the minors; he’s seen less than a full season at Triple-A, after all.

By keeping Gardner in the fold at least until midseason, New York can bring Judge along at a deliberate pace and not rush him into an outfield that is counting on veterans Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury to stay healthy.

Assuming Gardner—an All-Star in 2015—stays healthy and provides his usual mix of speed, savvy and pop, there should be plenty of takers come July.

Speaking of which, few commodities are more coveted at the trade deadline than late-inning arms. And Miller is one of the best in the game, even if he cedes closing duties to Chapman.

Miller had a stellar season last year at the head of New York’s shutdown bullpen, posting a 2.04 ERA with 100 strikeouts in 61.2 innings and finishing 10th in American League Cy Young Award balloting.

Now, with lefties Chapman and Miller and right-handed setup man Dellin Betances, the Yankees have a chance to improve upon 2015’s elite relief corps, which paced the pack with 596 strikeouts.

They also have a chance to trade from a strength to address a weakness. They could do it now, though other teams have balked at their asking price of a top young starting pitcher for Miller, per Cafardo.

That’s in the frigid middle of winter, however, when free agents are dangling and clubs can afford to see how their own internal options perform in the spring.

By July, the playoff races are heating up, and teams become more desperate to plug holes. An arm like Miller’s could fetch a hefty ransom from a contender that just lost its closer to injury, for example. Especially since the 30-year-old southpaw—who signed an exceedingly reasonable four-year, $36 million deal before the 2015 season—would be more than a stretch-run rental.

General manager Brian Cashman said it’s his “full intent” to keep the Chapman/Miller/Betances troika together, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, but added he expects to get a “lot of interesting calls.”

If someone blows Cashman away with an offer for Miller or Gardner (or virtually anyone else) between now and pitchers and catchers reporting, fine. If not, he’d be wise to hold his chips and see where things stand in six months.

Heck, who knows what the Yankees will need at midseason? The starting rotation looks like the most obvious concern at the moment. But the lineup is filled with creaky vets—Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira—who could break down anytime. Maybe adding a bat will be the summer’s top priority.

In many ways, New York is in a generalized holding pattern, as Rosenthal outlined:

This isn’t necessarily a playoff team, but the Yankees’ 2016 season is partly about buying time until the contracts of first baseman Mark Teixieira and outfielder Carlos Beltran expire, just as the 2017 season will be partly about buying time while left-hander CC Sabathia and third baseman Alex Rodriguez play out their deals.

In the meantime, Cashman is threading the needle — protecting his assets, getting younger and steering clear of new long-term obligations, in accordance with an ownership mandate.

New York still wants to win now, make no mistake. There’s no such thing as a full-on rebuild in the Bronx. And the AL East, while balanced, is an eminently winnable division, stocked top to bottom with flawed hopefuls.

But where the Yanks used to rule the offseason by throwing their big-market bulk around and cutting cartoonish checks like Publishers Clearing House gone berserk, their new modus operandi is wait and see.

That should keep Gardner and Miller in pinstripes for the time being. Whether it’ll bring good things remains to be seen.

All statistics and contract information courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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In Chicago, Starlin Castro was a victim of circumstance. Now, after being traded to the New York Yankees, the shortstop-turned-second baseman should be its beneficiary.

There wasn’t a more criticized athlete in Chicago than the Cubs‘ once-prized shortstop who ended his career with the team as a second baseman before being traded to the Yankees on Dec. 8, a move that will benefit not only both teams but also Castro.

Castro, in his early 20s, was thrust into a starring role on Cubs teams with no intention of competing during the early years of the Theo Epstein rebuild. When Epstein took over as Cubs president of baseball operations, Castro was unprotected in the lineup and often forced to hit third or fourth—slots in which he has put up his worst offensive numbers.

Struggles at the plate snowballed into mental lapses in the field, which drew the ire of a tortured Cubs fanbase. In his six seasons in Chicago, the Cubs went through five managers—Lou Piniella, Mike Quade, Dale Sveum, Ricky Renteria and Joe Maddon—while he was trying to learn English.

Those conditions made it difficult for Castro to develop defensively. Only Piniella and Renteria speak Spanish fluently. Try discussing a shift or wheel play in a language you don’t know. You’ll understand the difficulty.

Jim Hendry, the Cubs’ general manager at the time, signed Castro in 2006 and promoted him to the major leagues in 2010, at 20 years old, straight from Double-A Tennessee.

Hendry always had confidence in Castro’s bat—he led the National League with 207 hits in 2011—and thinks that Castro is an ideal fit for a Yankees team trying to compete yet get younger. Castro will turn 26 right before the start of the 2016 season.

Hendry, who was the Cubs’ general manager from 2002-11, has been a Yankees special assistant since 2012.

“In hindsight, very few people can do that [be the centerpiece on a major league team as a young player] well,” Hendry said, while praising the job Epstein has done in Chicago, in an interview with Bleacher Report.

“Obviously the Cubs weren’t trying to contend then. Besides the [Mike] Trouts and [Bryce] Harpers of the world at 21, 22, 23 years old, not too many guys can take on that spot. So I think he probably got in a rut of trying to do too much, swing got a little longer and chased some bad pitches.”

As a shortstop, Castro failed to meet the expectations that cast him as a rangy player with the kind of arm capable of taking away base hits.

Instead, inexcusable mistakes that included eating sunflower seeds while on the field, unawareness of the infield fly rule on one occasion and situational miscues colored his stint as the Cubs’ shortstop.

It didn’t help that Castro replaced fan favorite Ryan Theriot, who didn‘t cover a lot of ground but made all the routine plays. That magnified the former’s fielding errors.

Castro’s poor play in the field overshadowed what he did at the plate, including hitting .307 in 2011 and being selected to three National League All-Star teams (2011, 2012 and 2014).

Hendry, however, did not project Castro as a career shortstop. He knew eventually he would move to either second or third. Hendry said while the Yankees traded for him intending to use him as a second baseman, his versatility allows for spot starts at shortstop or third base should manager Joe Girardi choose to do so.

“He earned some criticism,” Hendry said. “When you make some mental mistakes, you deserve to wear that a little bit. We all knew him, knew he wasn’t a bad kid. He’s a good kid and he cares and he’s a good teammate.”

Castro’s lowest moment came when struggles at the plate prompted a benching in August of last season. Though Maddon did not characterize the move as a benching at the time, Castro was effectively taken out of the everyday lineup.

Addison Russell was moved from second base to shortstop for what would end up being the remainder of the season. Kyle Schwarber was inserted into left field and Chris Coghlan moved from left field to second base. Castro got some opportunities to start at second for the Cubs and eventually worked his way back into the everyday lineup.

In September and October, Castro hit .369/.400/.655. He started all nine games for the Cubs in the postseason.

“After he went to second base, the bat seemed to come back around,” Hendry said. “I thought Joe Maddon did a really nice job handling the last couple months and, in fairness to Starlin, he didn’t pout.

“He went through his ups and downs and I think all those things will prepare him to do well in New York.”

New York might be more unforgiving than Chicago, but Castro is certain to play under less scrutinized circumstances in 2016. With players like Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran in the lineup, Castro will be less of a focal point.

If Castro does become a star in New York and hits over .300, which is well within in his capabilities, he will have eased into the role—not been thrust into it.

In fact, the 2016 season will give Castro his best opportunity to put up gaudy numbers.

With the top of the Yankees’ order set, Castro is likely to slot lower in the lineup. Though the team hasn’t specifically said where Castro might hit, he figures to see several early at-bats hitting eighth. In 113 career at-bats in that spot, Castro has hit .319/.402/.451.

He has always had star power and been capable of carrying a team with his bat. Castro was just restricted by the limitations of a rebuilding Cubs team early in his career. He may be meant to be a star. But it has to be on his terms.

While Castro was pegged as such in Chicago, he is likely to be most successful living in the shadows of a star-studded lineup in New York.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.

Seth Gruen covers baseball for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @SethGruen.

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Former New York Yankees pitcher Luis Arroyo passed away Wednesday at the age of 88 in his home country of Puerto Rico. 

According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), the pitcher’s daughter said he was diagnosed with cancer in December and died Wednesday. Arroyo was the first Puerto Rican-born player to play for the Yankees, and the team offered its condolences on Twitter:

Arroyo pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1955, the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1956-57, the Cincinnati Reds in 1959 and the Yankees from 1960-63. He was an All-Star in his rookie season in St. Louis, but his best year in the majors came in 1961 when he helped the Bronx Bombers win the World Series.

He finished with a 15-5 record, 2.19 ERA and major league-best 29 saves that season and even earned a victory in the Fall Classic over Cincinnati. He made his second and final All-Star team in 1961 as well.

He finished with a 40-32 record, 45 saves and 3.93 ERA throughout his eight career seasons.

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The New York Yankees acquired Tyler Olson and Ronald Torreyes from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Rob Segedin, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

This is the second move from the Dodgers on Tuesday after they announced they traded Joe Wieland to the Seattle Mariners for Erick Mejia.   

Olson, a left-handed reliever, appeared in 11 games for the Mariners in 2015. He posted a 5.40 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched. He had a 2.08 ERA against left-handers in Triple-A, per MiLB.com, so he could become a lefty specialist for the Yankees in 2016.

Torreyes had a brief stay with the Dodgers last year, making eight plate appearances and going 2-for-6 at the plate. In the minors, he featured as a second baseman, third baseman, shortstop and even left fielder. He spent the majority of his time up the middle, though, so he’ll likely play second or short predominantly next year.

Rosenthal noted Los Angeles had previously designated both players for assignment.

Segedin has yet to appear in a major league game, spending 2015 with the Yankees’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. In 71 games, he hit .287/.360/.426 with seven home runs and 24 runs batted in. Should Yankees third baseman Chase Headley get injured, Segedin could fill in as a short-term replacement.

None of the three players moved will feature in his respective team’s Opening Day plans without an outstanding showing in spring training.

However, they’ll all provide depth over the course of the year in case the major league roster becomes depleted.

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