According to a report by Jesse Rogers of ESPN, in the event the Chicago Cubs sign Ben Zobrist, team sources say they will almost certainly end up trading 2B/SS Starlin Castro.
A three-time All Star, Castro had a very pedestrian season in 2015, batting .265 with a .296 on-base and .671 OPS. However, the 25-year old Castro finished strong and posted a ,295 average with a .464 slugging and .783 OPS in the second half.
Castro would most likely cost the Mets a young arm like Zack Wheeler or Steven Matz and I’m not inclined to trade either one of them for Castro, who is too flawed a player for the Mets in my opinion.
I’m not against moving a young cost-controlled pitcher for a difference-maker that could make a significant impact, but Castro is not that kind of player.
The Cubs have had on-again, off-again interest in trading for Mets left-hander Jon Niese and inquired on him as recently as last July. If Niese could headline a deal for Castro, or preferably Javier Baez, I would be tempted to listen. However, no way on Wheeler or Matz.
The Mets have several options they’ll kick the tires on in free agency like Ian Desmond, Alexei Ramirez and Asdrubal Cabrera. But my read of the situation is that they don’t want to commit to more than two years on any free agent with top prospects Gavin Cecchini and Amed Rosario not far away.
Additionally, we already have a Starlin Castro and arguably a better version of him. His name is Wilmer Flores.
In 2015, Flores posted a 95 wRC+ compared to a 80 wRC+ for Castro, and Flores more than doubled his Wins Above Replacement 1.9 to 0.8.
Let Theo peddle Castro somewhere else for a young starting pitcher, he makes little sense for the Mets and offers no upgrade.
