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Chicago Cubs: Evaluating Starlin Castro’s career thus far

By Daniel Shepard

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 12: Starlin Castro
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 12: Starlin Castro /
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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 18: Starlin Castro #14 of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a double during the second inning against the Houston Astros in Game Five of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 18, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 18: Starlin Castro #14 of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a double during the second inning against the Houston Astros in Game Five of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium on October 18, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /

Castro traded to New York

With the promotion of Addison Russell and presence of Javier Baez and, later, Ben Zobrist, it was apparent that Castro’s time with the Cubs was coming to an end by the conclusion of the 2015 season.

By the middle of December 2015, the 25-year-old was a New York Yankee. Castro was traded to the Yankees for reliever Adam Warren and a player to be named later. The objective of the trade for the Cubs was not to get a lot of talent back, but rather to clear roster space for newly-signed Zobrist.

Despite not giving up much talent, the Yankees got a solid player in Castro. In his first season with the Yankees, Castro slashed .270/.300/.433 with 21 home runs (a career-high) and 70 RBI. Along with that, he recorded 29 doubles and logged an OPS+ of 93.

After posting good numbers in his first season with his new team, Castro built upon that success in 2017. Even though a hamstring injury limited him to 112 games last season, the middle infielder slashed .300/.338/.454. Along with that, Castro recorded 16 home runs and 63 RBI to accompany his 106 OPS+.

On the defensive side of the ball, things did not get better for Castro after joining his new team. After sliding over to second base following the trade, Castro logged 23 errors in two seasons. While that is a decrease from his days with the Cubs, his .975 fielding percentage and -12 runs saved at the position are still below-average.

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