Some necessary preambles:
(1) Jayson Stark is solid, so I tend to listen when he reports things like this.
(2) Words are flexible and can have a number of meanings, depending on the context (something Twitter often precludes); and
(3) This is just one report, and may not mean as much as it seems.
That all in mind, here you go:
Other clubs say #Cubs aggressively trying to include Starlin Castro in any deal. It was interesting that Addison Russell played SS yesterday
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 30, 2015
As you no doubt recall, Joe Maddon and Starlin Castro each yesterday referenced a conversation the two had about Castro being double-switched out of the game on Tuesday and then sitting on Wednesday. The thrust of the conversation was: Castro is not being traded. (At this very moment? This week? This year? Ever? That part was unclear.) You can see articles on those comments here and here (just two examples).
Given that, and given the value proposition I’ve discussed all along – namely, that Castro doesn’t really have much right now – I have a hard time seeing the Cubs effectively dumping Castro right now. I can’t see much coming back in the way of trade, and, as a 25-year-old who very well could bounce back, the Cubs’ best value for Castro might be to simply hold onto him and see if he actually does bounce back.
Unless a team actually wants to give up some value in a deal for Castro, that is. The Cubs and Padres recently were reported to have discussed Castro.
That, plus Phil Rogers mentions something we discussed earlier in the week as a possibility:
Interesting twist to Cubs-Padres talk. SD could include 2B Jedd Gyorko while Cubs include SS Starlin Castro. Makes $$$ neutral.
— Phil Rogers (@philgrogers) July 30, 2015
A bad contract swap like that (as part of a larger deal) isn’t quite as much of a dump as Stark’s tweet indicates, and there could be something there. Here’s what I wrote on Monday about Gyorko/Castro:
The name we haven’t discussed is former young star Jedd Gyorko, who was signed to an extension before the 2014 season and promptly fell on hard times. Would the Cubs consider a Gyorko-Starlin Castro swap, perhaps with other pieces involved? Gyorko’s contract is more modest, though his upside is lower than Castro’s (and Castro is actually younger). I’m definitely not on the “dump Castro” bandwagon, and Gyorko has crashed as hard as Castro – but there are angles to this (again, involving other players) that could be interesting to explore.
So, is there an angle here involving Castro, Gyorko, and perhaps pitching from the Padres and prospect(s) from the Cubs? Yes, there is a conceivable fit.
But deals like that get complicated really quickly, and are difficult to pull off. This is worth continuing to follow – we know there are plenty of rumored connections between the Cubs and Padres this week – so this probably isn’t just blustery rumor mongering.
UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal dips his toe in:
Per @jaysonst, #Cubs now shopping Castro aggressively. Fox Sports had previously reported that his name had surfaced in talks with #Padres.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2015
#Cubs manager Maddon told Castro he would not be traded. Castro’s agent, Paul Kinzer told Castro to remain prepared for any possibility.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2015
UPDATE 2: Carrie Muskat is hearing that there’s not much to hear right now:
There are reports #Cubs are aggressively trying to move Castro. I'm told that right now, it's just noise
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) July 30, 2015