Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
If you’ve watched/followed Starlin Castro and the Chicago Cubs at any point during this season, it should come as no surprise that there have been reports of a strained relationship between the organization and their young shortstop. Once looked at as a building block for the franchise, his future on the North Side could now be in question.
Castro has had multiple issues this season. His mental mistakes, both in the field and on the basepaths, have earned him a bit of time on the bench. There was the issue with moving his hands too much in his batting stance, which has led to several adjustments at the plate, none of which have seemed to work.
Related: Should Chicago Cubs Sign Shin-Soo Choo This Offseason?
All of this has seemed to frustrate Castro, who seems to be upset over the incredible amount of coaching he’s received from the staff in Chicago. To a certain extent, that’s understandable. But when you’re struggling as mightily as he has for much of this year, you have to understand that the extra coaching is going to come with it. Especially when you’re 23.
What this recent rift has done is create and opportunity for those who aren’t exactly fans of Castro to look for a way to get him out of Chicago. Castro’s issues in the field haven’t earned him as many fans as he could have, but now it’s looking like a new home could be an actual possibility this winter.
That’s not to say that the front office will heavily shop Starlin Castro. Despite his down year, he’s still one of the top up-and-coming shortstops in the league. However, the Cubs also have one of those down in the minors, with Javier Baez, who is having an absolutely brilliant season in tearing through the minor league ranks.
If the Cubs do choose to shop Castro, they will find no shortage of takers. He is coming off a down year, yes, but from 2010-12 he looked like a player capable of being in league with the top two or three shortstops in the game. That’s in addition to the fact that he’s signed through 2020 on a pretty reasonable contract.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Cubs approach this situation moving forward. It wasn’t looking like it would be a very exciting winter, as the Cubs likely to bear another year of hardship, but this just added a potentially gigantic storyline to the offseason for the Chicago Cubs.
