As expected, the Marlins will decline their $16MM option on infielder Starlin Castro, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link). Castro will instead receive a $1MM buyout and head into the free agent market for the first time in his career.
Castro’s eventual departure from Miami has been more or less forecast ever since he was acquired from the Yankees as part of the Giancarlo Stanton blockbuster in December 2017. Castro’s inclusion in the deal was largely due to help balance out the salaries involved in the trade, and the Marlins have spent much of the last two seasons exploring trades for Castro as part of the club’s efforts to pare down payroll and move veteran talent.
Castro didn’t entirely help his trade value by posting a pair of decent but unspectacular seasons in Miami. 2018 saw him hit .278/.329/.400 over 647 PA, with a 101 wRC+ and 102 OPS+ indicating slightly above-average offense and solid glovework upping his value to 2.3 fWAR. He took a step back to 1.3 fWAR and a 91 wRC+/94 OPS+ in 2019 largely due to a horrific opening three months of the season, as Castro hit only .230/.258/.313 over his first 345 plate appearances.
His much improved hitting from July 1 onward will help Castro’s chances in free agency, and he also boosted his versatility by playing third base for the first time in his Major League career, appearing in 45 games at the hot corner last season. Though a ten-year veteran, Castro still doesn’t turn 30 years old until March, making him both younger and with a lot more experience as an everyday performer than several of the other second-tier options on the second base/third base market.
The Marlins will move forward with prospect Isan Diaz penciled into second base, though since Diaz only had a .566 OPS over his first 201 Major League plate appearances, Miami is likely to look for a veteran backup or multi-position player who could step into second base duty if Diaz still needs more minor league seasoning. Re-signing Castro is “not a priority early in free agency,” Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears from a source, though the Marlins haven’t totally closed the door on the possibility of a Castro return.
Meh. This is an example of just because a guy isn’t worth his maximum potential AAV doesn’t mean he isn’t worth a roster spot. I think he could hook on somewhere for 1 year/$5M be worth that much or a bit more. Heck I think he should be signed to a 2 year/$12M deal with a $1M buyout on an $8M option. I liked him on the Yankees and I feel like he could’ve had a much better career. Not sure why he doesn’t put it all together.
The man can hit.
I agree, he still has an outside chance of 3,000
Don’t think he’ll be given the opportunity.
He’d need 8 more years with the same number of hits as last year.
Cubs?
My though too… but that would be throwing in the towel on Hoerner or Happ
the latter isnt impossible
Happ is a lost cause. Hoerner looks pretty good, but he’s a rookie, and he definitely cooled off quite a bit in September. No one knows what he can really do. Cubs need hitters that actually make contact. Sign Castro for a 2 year $8 million contract and let him hit.
I don’t see the Cubs giving up on Hoerner just yet. He’s only 22, and didn’t even have 100 plate appearances at the MLB level yet. MLB.com ranks him as the 47th best prospect as well.
Hopefully happ…dont think he will be playing much with maddon gone
Lol Starlin Castro blocking anyone.
Definitely Cubs. One person I was wishing would have gotten a ring .
Anyone that would wish him on the Cubs id probably. a White Sox fan. We had him once and I would NEVER want the seed chewer back.
Possibly Boston.
Could he manage short again in Milwaukee at the right price maybe. Still cant believe he is only 30 still
There are many landing spots for this guy. A lot of teams could do worse.
I agree with you. He is an above average hitter and certainly not a liability with the glove.
He is not an above average hitter. 98 OPS+ for his career, and worse than that last year.
A team can’t give him everyday at bats if he’s carrying a .300 OBP again.
id hope Klentak is interested as a stopgap 2B/bench bat
I refuse to say Cleveland.
Angels , put him at second with Simmons , trade La Stella for pitching , La Stella and Maddon have a history of disagreement. Both teams win
The Angels have Rengifo, LaStella, Fletcher, Cozart and possibly Thaiss.
I’d be very surprised if the Angels find a spot for him. Last year, yeah. Next year, maybe. But not this year. They have to let that hand play out.
Agreed. Even if one of that group is traded we still have Jam Jones ready to graduate to the bigs. Castro fits the mold of the typical Halo infielder but I just dont see room for him on this club
Not sure trading him makes any sense. He is going to be a free agent in 2021, and had half season where you’d go Wow. Teams generally don’t trade much value for that if any, especially with the depth at the position. So at that point he’s probably more valuable to the Angels.
Could see Castro on the Red Sox as a stop gap. 1 or 2 year deal
To play where?
Second base I would suspect. The Sox don’t have anyone there and he could probably be had on a reasonable, short contract
If he continues to play every day he could have sneaky impressive career numbers in the future
No surprise here.
Won’t happen, but I’d love to see the Rangers drop Odor and replace him with Castro.
Why is anyone a fan of his. He payed no attention to the game half the time.
White Sox. Was always a fan of his
Would Castro play second base until Madigral comes up?
He can be a utility guy, I believe he played some third last year and hell learn him some first if necessary.
Loved him on the Fish but he deserves to play for a contender after years of playing for rebuilding clubs. In my opinion, he would be a nice utility man option for the Yanks and I think he would be a nice fit for the Nats on a 1 or 2 year deal if Rendon leaves.
Castro is a younger version of Howie Kendrick, he can help a contender next year.
Howie Kendrick is a much better hitter than Castro right now.
That was a great joke. Kendrick is a far superior player. Furthermore, Castro won’t be playing like Kendrick has through ages 30-35, and he isn’t as versatile either.
Why pay one guy $16mil when you can stick their whole team for that much?
Would be perfect for a team with a lefty INF stick who struggles against lefties. Castro can step in. Might also be time to teach Castro how to play 1B to be a viable 2B/3B/1B backup.
I believe the Cubs…replacing Zobrist.
Amazing. He was the best 2nd baseman in the league in NY. And now…
In NY: 2 seasons, 99 OPS+, 3.3 bWAR
In Miami: 2 seasons, 98 OPS+, 4.0 bWAR
Lol… People think he was the best in the league because he played for the Yankees
Every Yankee is the best ever. If you don’t believe me just ask their fans.
IDK…according to Mets fans, Mets beat writers, and the Mets PR machine, every Mets player is the greatest ever. And when the team fails like it traditionally does, it’s the manager’s fault, the players are underachieving because they aren’t performing at least 25% than they’ve ever shown before, or some other excuse.
If someone could teach him an Javy Baez to wait and hit pitches they can drive, versus seeing if they can put the bat on anything and dink it 3rd, they’d both be unstoppable. Obviously Baez is a better hitter, but they have that same qualms some extent. I’d be interested to see his glove work numbers. He would make a helluva backup INF 2nd/3rd maybe even SS. I think he’d be better as that than an everyday player. He looses focus throughout the course of a long season playing every game.
Berti will start over Diaz. Isan needs to get his groove back at AAA
I can’t see Castro finding an everyday gig with any team of significance. The problem is, he just doesn’t do anything well enough anymore. His bat is declining, and hits volume can’t offset an OBP like the. 300 he put up this season. He hasn’t been trustworthy at SS for years, and he isn’t good enough at 2B or 3B to make up for the lack of bat. Plus, he’s been a terrible baserunner his entire career, and falls short on intangibles considering his tendency to make mental gaffes and lose focus.
Unless he’s got some extra tricks up his sleeve, he’s going to have to settle for being a bench guy going forward.
The ‘centerpiece’ of the Stanton trade…. gone! I wonder what both Marlins fans think of this?
Um, the centerpiece of the Stanton trade was getting rid of that contract. How’d that contract look this year? How will it look when Stanton opts in to spend half of those years on the DL? Oh yeah, and don’t speak too soon because our front office built the Yankees system which led into what they’ve become, and the two prospects they nabbed from the Yankees were guys they specifically wanted.
And what do we think? Well…at least we aren’t the Mets. Who has the longest World Series Championship drought in the NL East?
Last championship by NL East teams:
Nats – 2019
Phillies – 2008
Marlins – 2003
Braves – 1995
Mets – 1986
On behalf of every Marlins fan that is standing in full support of the rebuild, buh bye! Starling, can you take Chen with you too?
Building toward the next run! Go Marlins!
1997…2003…????
All 13 of them thank you for making that statement…