The Cuban Defectors Thread

[Guest]

Remember, he's represented by Roc Nation/Jay-Z.

[Neuby]

Hoyer confirmed the Cubs had five scouts at a workout Saturday for Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo, whom they have monitored closely. They are expected to conduct a private workout with him.

 

bschuster@tribune.com

[Guest]

Not sure if we knew this already for sure or not but

 

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo already has his license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control and is free to sign with any team at any time.

[brinoch]

What do we think about Rusney Castillo possibly signing with the Cubs? I think the infield is fairly set heading into next year with Rizzo, Baez, Castro, and (eventually/hopefully) Bryant, with Valbuena in the utility role. OF has Alcantara and (eventually/hopefully) Soler then... Ruggiano, Coughlin? It seems there may be a need for an OF here. Castillo only costs money, and the window is starting to open for 2015.

[davell]

Yes, sign him. He's young and versatile. We've got plenty of payroll room to add him and pitching too.

 

C Castillo

1B Rizzo

2B Javy

SS Starlin

3B Valbuena with KB up in late April

LF Rusney

CF Alcantara

RF Soler Ruggiano as 4th OF

 

2016 Opening Day

C Castillo

1B Rizzo

2B Javy

SS Russell

3B Starlin

LF KB

CF Rusney

RF Soler

Utility Alcantara

[Clem Fandango]

Why do people envision Starlin moving to 3B instead of Baez? Doesn't Baez have a better arm?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Why do people envision Starlin moving to 3B instead of Baez? Doesn't Baez have a better arm?

Probably because they've given Baez zero reps at 3B.

[Guest]

Why do people envision Starlin moving to 3B instead of Baez? Doesn't Baez have a better arm?

 

A - Because both positions are open now (and they have a really good 2B on the roster) and they are still putting Baez at 2B now because that's where they see him long term (which they've practically said publicly).

 

B - There have already been whispers that Castro has been told he might ultimately move to 3B.

 

C - This is totally based on nothing substantial but I think Baez probably has better range than Castro. I don't know which has the better arm, but SS's have the range to play 2B and the arm to play 3B. They should both be able to handle either position, but it seems the FO thinks 2B is a better use of his skillset (or maybe they think 3B is a better use of Castro's, especially as he continues to fill out).

[treebird]

i would be pretty shocked if baez had better range than castro

[Guest]

I assumed Baez moved to 2B over 3B simply because there's still a non-zero chance Bryant will stay at 3B.

[Guest]

i would be pretty shocked if baez had better range than castro

 

I'm not really great with defensive metrics but I think his range is grading out below average this year (granted, that doesn't necessarily mean it's not better than javy's)

[Clem Fandango]

I assumed Baez moved to 2B over 3B simply because there's still a non-zero chance Bryant will stay at 3B.

 

That's been my assumption, but if/when Russell shows up to force a move on one (or some) of them, I was always under the impression that Baez's would move to 3B because his arm was ridiculously strong, which is why many people after he was drafted assumed he would eventually move off SS for 3B. Thought there were questions about his SS glove work, but not about his arm. Does he have bad arm accuracy?

 

I'm not complaining either way, I was just curious why people pencil Castro in as a future 3B instead of 2B. I don't care where any of them play as long as they play adequate defense and hit the way they're capable of

[A New Era]

If they all work out Baez should be at 3B because of his arm. Russell at SS because of his skill there. And I think Castro would make a fine transition to 2B. That's my opinion anyway. Bryant and Soler can go to LF and RF doesn't matter which.

[treebird]

unless castro takes a step forward offensively, i'm going to be awfully tempted to trade him rather than move him to third base if and when russell comes to force him off of ss.

[imb]

From the one game sample of which I saw Javy irl, his arm is fairly preposterous.

 

Here's how I see it. Javy stays at 2B if Bryant sticks at 3B when he comes up next year. Castro or Russell is traded, leaving the survivor at shortstop.

 

Javy moves to 3B if Bryant can't stick and moves to the OF. Russell and Castro split SS and 2B.

 

This way, they give Javy's bat the opportunity to stay up the middle, where it's almost guaranteed to be better than average.

[Gilby]

The way the FO talks about Bryant at 3rd makes me feel pretty confident he's destined for the OF. They were pretty adamant Baez could've remained at SS, but whenever they talk about Bryant, it's always a work in progress and they admit the height really limits him. And yeah, unless Baez looks ridiculously good at 2B, it wouldn't surprise me if he still ends up at 3B. I just can't picture Starlin at 3B.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

what is so hard picturing a guy that's played SS playing 3B. I don't get it. this isn't 1999 where all the 3B were on roids and hittings 30 homers

[Gilby]

what is so hard picturing a guy that's played SS playing 3B. I don't get it. this isn't 1999 where all the 3B were on roids and hittings 30 homers

 

Part of it is that even though UZR is telling me differently, I still think of him as this rangy guy I'd like to keep up the middle. Also, part of his problem is sometimes holding onto the ball too long. Moving to 2B would help that whereas 3B wouldn't.

[seanimal]

my guess is barring trades, the if ends up like:

 

russell - 5

castro - 6

baez - 4

rizzo - 3

 

all bets are off depending on the trade, but lets just hope bryant doesn't have to be our everyday 3b in like four years

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

nope, russell is playing ss for sure.

[seanimal]

not if you want to field the best defense possible

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

how is it the best defense when the best ss is playing 3b?

[Clem Fandango]

what is so hard picturing a guy that's played SS playing 3B. I don't get it. this isn't 1999 where all the 3B were on roids and hittings 30 homers

 

It's not that, it's that the majority of Castro's defensive miscues have been on throwing errors, and I figured moving him further away from 1B isn't going to help him that much more. I know he has a strong arm, but I've always assumed his accuracy was pretty sub par. Plus his range would play well at 2B.

 

Meanwhile I've assumed Javy needed to work on his glove while his arm was basically a howitzer, hence why his defensive profile works better at 3B than 2B (in my head anyways).

 

To be honest I'm not too familiar with the primary concerns of the Javy's defensive game, and just basing this off what I remember from his scouting profile around his first season in pro ball.

[Guest]

Who knows how much can be read into this report, especially since it says "could," but it is, nevertheless, a sourced report.

 

A source familiar with the Cubs' thinking told David Lennon of New York Newsday that Starlin Castro shouldn't be expected to be traded this season.

Plenty have assumed that the Cubs' recent acquisition of Addison Russell in the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel deal means that Castro will go on the block, but the team is obviously in no rush to make a deal. The source also told Lennon that the club could move Castro to third base for 2015. Of course, the Cubs have one of the top third base prospects in the game in Kris Bryant, but the outfield hasn't been ruled out as a possibility for him. There are a lot of moving pieces here, so things could change if the right offer comes along.

[seanimal]

as russell ages, the less of a gap between him and castro at SS, yet the opposite is likely true for 3b. castro is merely a liability at ss; he'd be a [expletive] show at 3b. if it were just a matter of one over the other at ss than yes, you're right. unfortunately, someone who is not kris bryant is going to have to play 3b and it absolutely should not be castro