The primary veteran piece going back to the Miami Marlins in the Giancarlo Stanton trade is infielder Starlin Castro.
However, he may not even appear in a Marlins uniform, as the Fish figure to flip him sooner rather than later. With that being said, Mike Puma of the New York Post says the Mets plan to speak to Miami about acquiring him.
The 27-year-old is owed $10.8 million in 2018 and $11.86 million in 2019 with a $16 million club option in 2020.
At the dish, Castro wouldn’t provide much of an upgrade and has parallels to current Met, Wilmer Flores.
In 112 games (473 plate appearances) this year, Castro had a 110 wRC+ and .338 wOBA while hitting to a .300/.338/.454 clip. He also had 16 home runs and 63 RBI.
For his career, he owns a 97 wRC+ and .318 wOBA, with a .282/.320/.413 slash line to go along with a 4.8 percent career walk rate and 16.5 strikeout rate. Additionally, he hit just .251/.288/.373 away from Yankee Stadium the past two years.
In comparison, Flores had a 106 wRC+ and .331 wOBA in 2017, with a .271/.307/.488 line in 110 games (362 plate appearances). He also had 18 homers and 52 RBI. Since debuting in 2013, he has a 97 wRC+ and .310 wOBA, with a .260/.298/.426 career mark to go along with a 4.8 percent career walk rate and 13.8 strikeout rate.
In his time with the Chicago Cubs, Castro primarily played shortstop, but held down the keystone in his two seasons with the Yankees.
This season, Castro had -6 defensive runs saved in 936.0 innings at second, with a -5.9 UZR.
Since Miami is looking to keep their payroll as low as possible, any team that acquires Castro will likely be required to take on the entirety of his contract.
In that case, the Mets would be better off adding someone like Ian Kinsler, who has just one year left on his contract and would provide stability in the field.
In 1137.1 innings this past season, Kinsler was good for 6 defensive runs saved and had a 6.1 UZR. At the dish, he managed to hit just .236/.313/.412 with a 91 wRC+ and .313 wOBA, but still clubbed 22 long balls and drove in 52 runs in 613 plate appearances.
If the Mets are just going to make a knee jerk trade in response to the Yankees getting Stanton earlier today, it shouldn’t be Castro. At least Kinsler would make a hint of sense and could help give Amed Rosario a solid double play partner up the middle.
At the end of the day, I just don’t see why bringing Castro aboard makes much, if any, sense. He’s not an upgrade at the field and honestly, he’s not even an impact bat. He would just be an expensive and unnecessary piece that wouldn’t solve any problems.
