Olney brings up the thought of dealing Starlin

[RammyFanny]

Castro, 22, is viewed as the crown jewel of the Cubs' franchise, and at 21, he led the National League in hits with 207. He is seemingly capable of being a .300 hitter for the next 10-12 years.

 

His play is also raising questions about whether he can be a shortstop long term, because of his defensive inefficiency; he has 64 errors in his first 325 games in the majors. If he is moved to another position, his value will immediately be diminished. His on-base percentage was .347 in his first year, .341 last year, and it's down to .326 this year. Epstein always valued high on-base percentage in his years as general manager of the Boston Red Sox, more so than some other teams.

 

The Cubs could keep Castro as their centerpiece, with the belief that his flaws will be fixed. They could trade him -- and right now, before his salary begins to rocket upward, he could have significant value to a team that believes in his potential and values his athleticism. Think Hanley Ramirez, with depreciation for the fact Castro already has two-plus years of service time.

 

There are almost no deals the Cubs can make with their current 40-man roster that would bring them high-impact talent in return. Trading Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Marmol would bring them nothing; swapping Castro could get them two high-end prospects.

 

For the readers: If you are the Cubs, what should you do with Castro?

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/olney_buster/id/7959042/the-chicago-cubs-make-decisions-starlin-castro-bryan-lahair-matt-garza-others-mlb

 

And Churchill's take:

The Chicago Cubs are likely to entertain the thought of trading several players on their roster this summer, including right-handers Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster, their entire bullpen, first baseman Bryan LaHair and veteran outfielder Alfonso Soriano. The one player that would seem to be safe is shortstop Starlin Castro, but as ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney writes Tuesday, the 22-year-old Castro could be too valuable a trade piece to put on the untouchable list.

 

Olney suggests the infielder could net the Cubs two high-end prospects, and that is likely the best the Cubs can do with any of their commodities. Which clubs would have interest in Castro if the Cubs make him available depends on where they see him playing defensively over the next four or five years. He has the skills to handle shortstop where his bat is plus, but he's making too many mistakes early in his career and could end up moving to third base where offensively he'd be merely adequate with the bat without significant improvement in the on-base percentage area.

 

As a shortstop, darn near every team in the league is likely to have some level of interest. Perhaps the best fits include the Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox. As a third baseman, the Philadelphia Phillies, Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, both L.A. clubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks could show interest.

 

The A's, M's and Diamondbacks may have the most to offer in terms of young talent, especially in the pitching department. The Atlanta Braves could also use a shortstop or third baseman, but may have to part with young pitching they haven't been willing to move in recent years.

 

- Jason A. Churchill

[SouthSideRyan]

Buster Olney is a [expletive] moron.

 

I seriously had to check to see if this article was written last spring. Castro's already an above average defensive SS.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Buster Olney is a [expletive] moron.

 

I seriously had to check to see if this article was written last spring. Castro's already an above average defensive SS.

 

This is where I stopped reading as well.

 

Not that I think anyone on this team is 100% safe as far as trades go...If someone overwhelms the FO then more power to them. It's just that with Castro the return would have to blow minds for decades, nay centuries, to come.

[SouthSideRyan]

Castro is Castro, but the prospect could turn out to be anything. It could even become Starlin Castro!!

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

Castro is Castro, but the prospect could turn out to be anything. It could even become Starlin Castro!!

 

It would have to be someone ridiculous like a David Price+...something dumb that would never happen...Or just no.

[jersey cubs fan]

I would much rather trade Garza due to defensive concerns and pending pay raises than Castro.

[El Duderino]

This is just dumb on so many levels.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

I would much rather trade Garza due to defensive concerns and pending pay raises than Castro.

 

Yep, and I'm not even that into the idea of trading Garza.

 

Plus it's possible that some team will actually overpay in prospects for him. That's damn near impossible to do with Castro.

[Guest]

He must have run out of [expletive] to write. Hey Buster, write about the racist, sexist new owner of the Astros and why they let him buy the team over Cuban. Or write about a hundred other things less stupid than trading Castro.

[davell]

So Hanley Ramirez, as a prospect, had more value than Castro does after 2 seasons? Really? Olney is a [expletive] idiot. Yeah, I'll trade Castro. Give me Bundy, Machado, and Schoop, along with whoever they get at 4 in the draft from Baltimore. Or give me Bauer, Skaggs, Bradley, and whoever Arizona's best hitting prospect is, plus whoever they take in the 1st and 2nd rounds. Too much for you Buster? Then [expletive] off.

[jersey cubs fan]

He must have run out of [expletive] to write. Hey Buster, write about the racist, sexist new owner of the Astros and why they let him buy the team over Cuban. Or write about a hundred other things less stupid than trading Castro.

 

Buster does write about a hundred things every time he writes an article.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

So Hanley Ramirez, as a prospect, had more value than Castro does after 2 seasons? Really? Olney is a [expletive] idiot. Yeah, I'll trade Castro. Give me Bundy, Machado, and Schoop, along with whoever they get at 4 in the draft from Baltimore. Or give me Bauer, Skaggs, Bradley, and whoever Arizona's best hitting prospect is, plus whoever they take in the 1st and 2nd rounds. Too much for you Buster? Then [expletive] off.

 

The O's would have to throw in their CF or the D'Backs would have to throw in their RF AND pay for half of the extension under the table.

[pitchcs]

So Hanley Ramirez, as a prospect, had more value than Castro does after 2 seasons? Really? Olney is a [expletive] idiot. Yeah, I'll trade Castro. Give me Bundy, Machado, and Schoop, along with whoever they get at 4 in the draft from Baltimore. Or give me Bauer, Skaggs, Bradley, and whoever Arizona's best hitting prospect is, plus whoever they take in the 1st and 2nd rounds. Too much for you Buster? Then [expletive] off.

 

That's a bit overboard.

[Cubswin11]

Motion that no poster is ever allowed to post anything Buster Olney writes again?

[javy knows my name]

Neely could have written that excerpt from Buster. Errors and BA, my Gawd

[BeerHere]

I love Castro but if trading him brings back some blue chip prospects I'm all for it. He's the best position prospect to come along in some time but he alone doesn't make this team a contender. With a major league team this bad, they have to listen to offers for anyone and everyone. The issue though is that it would take a lot to move him and I don't see anyone willing to part with that much.

[KingCubsFan]

I love Castro but if trading him brings back some blue chip prospects I'm all for it. He's the best position prospect to come along in some time but he alone doesn't make this team a contender. With a major league team this bad, they have to listen to offers for anyone and everyone. The issue though is that it would take a lot to move him and I don't see anyone willing to part with that much.

I'm guessing Starlin is younger than a large percentage of the current top 100. Glancing at BA's top 100 quickly, the only team with two "prospects" that might make it worth it is the Rangers (Darvish and Profar)

[javy knows my name]

WALKS

[Splendid Splinter]

If Diamondbacks are asking about Castro and I'm Theo/Hoyer... I'm asking AT LEAST... Upton and one of Skaggs/Bauer. Probably throw in some type of low level, high upside arm as well. No way would you trade Castro for only 2 blue chip prospects unless you get another very good prospect came along with them or one of the blue chip is on Harper/Trout/Moore type level. If it was for Garza, yes easily. What's considered a "blue chip" prospect??? Top 20 in MLB? Top 30???

 

Basically with Castro, it's the type of deal where there's no way you could say No.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I love Castro but if trading him brings back some blue chip prospects I'm all for it. He's the best position prospect to come along in some time but he alone doesn't make this team a contender. With a major league team this bad, they have to listen to offers for anyone and everyone. The issue though is that it would take a lot to move him and I don't see anyone willing to part with that much.

I'm guessing Starlin is younger than a large percentage of the current top 100. Glancing at BA's top 100 quickly, the only team with two "prospects" that might make it worth it is the Rangers (Darvish and Profar)

 

I wouldn't exactly tell the Orioles to take a hike if they offered Bundy and Machado.

[Splendid Splinter]

I wouldn't exactly tell the Orioles to take a hike if they offered Bundy and Machado.

 

 

Throw in Wieters and you got a deal!!!

[Beer Kaese]

While his low OBP/walk rate and possible move to third in the future diminish his value I can't see a team offering what it should take to make a deal.

[Soul]

Motion that no poster is ever allowed to post anything Buster Olney writes again?

 

Absolutely not.

 

I'm against this entire board if it collectively thinks that Castro -- OR ANYONE -- is untouchable given our situation.

 

Anyone and everyone is on the table, period end of story. Just depends on what we might get in return.

[Sammy Sofa]

Well, at least you're not letting emotion cloud your judgement or anything.

[davell]

Seriously, WSR is right. As bad of an article as it is and as much as I want Castro here, if the O's offered Bundy and Machado, I can't see any reason to turn that down. No matter how bullheaded I sounded earlier. That said, no chance Baltimore would entertain that and I don't blame them.