Comments on: Does Starlin Castro deserve to start?

By: Austin Yamada

Austin Yamada — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 08:33:05 +0000

I saw your other proposal on the Wood article — Castro and Gardner for Wood and Sheffield. I think that’s reasonably fair, value-wise, but I don’t see a fit here. Wood fits excellently with the Yankees, and it’d be cool to pair Jordan with his bro Justus in the Yanks’ org. But Gardner is of no use to the Dodgers, and he’s the one that really brings the surplus value to the table on NY’s end. LA already has Joc in CF and Puig in RF, plus they have Andrew Toles in LF who’s pretty similar to Gardner. They also have Ethier, and they have Trayce Thompson and Scott Van Slyke and Darin Ruf as RHs to platoon with Toles and/or Ethier. They also have Cody Bellinger and Alex Verdugo almost ready for the bigs, so I don’t see any way they’d give up value for Gardner, especially since he too comes with some platoon splits.
Castro, with his low OBP, doesn’t seem like a Friedman/Zaidi type of player, and the Dodgers seem to be targeting bigger fish at the moment like Dozer/Kinsler/Forsythe. However, Castro is a controllable RH-hitting 2b, so maybe there’s a fit here. No way Dodgers would give up Wood for Castro, but maybe a Castro for Sheffield and Trayce Thompson might work? Honestly, though, Castro doesn’t seem like someone Friedman would be interested in…as I said in the article, if the Yankees were to move Starlin, I think it makes the most sense to market him as a SS.

By: Austin Yamada

Austin Yamada — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 08:23:32 +0000

Is he a late bloomer though? The guy was the youngest player to EVER lead the NL in hits at age 21. If anything, he’s only regressed since then, and I see a player whose walk rates, strikeout rates, and stolen base totals have all been trending in the wrong direction for the last few years now.
Do I think there’s a chance he could be good, and that I may be eating my words for advocating to trade him now? Sure, I can see that.
But is it true that he was good or worth his contract last season? No, and no…if he doesn’t improve drastically from his 2016 production, he is of little to negative value.

By: mick

mick — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 20:59:19 +0000

Castro is learning a new position, on a new team, in a new city, which are 2nd base, Yankees, New York City. That’s a lot for one guy. He’s youthful, has power, and seems to be maturing into what scouts said he could be. He’s a late bloomer, and with his contract, a stone bargain. This guy’s got a lot of good years in him, barring any catastrophic injury.

By: billyball

billyball — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 03:10:02 +0000

I agree 100%.
Yanks should package Castro with Gardner to the Dodgers for Jordan Sheffield and another better prospect. Thoughts?