Cashman’s Coup: Starlin Castro And The New Look Yankees

(Kim Klement | USA TODAY Sports)

With the start of every season Yankees fans find themselves asking how far can they expect this years team to go. It is always World Series or bust with the Yankees and why should it be any different? There is no bigger stage in baseball than Yankee Stadium and the fans expect the best. That being said the time has come to face the facts, the Yankees are in a rebuilding period, yes the words rebuilding and the Yankees have just been used in the same sentence, but it is true. And it is not at all a bad thing, in fact it is necessary. The Yankees need to get back what made them such an incredible dynasty in the second half of the 1990’s and considering the moves they have made this offseason it seems that Brian Cashman is going to fully invest in this idea.

Instead of throwing truck loads of money at superstars like David Price or Chris Davis the Yankees instead decided to strengthen their side by trading for Aroldis Chapman, Aaron Hicks and Starlin Castro, and that’s it. Really, the Yankees only made three “major” trades during the entire offseason! The Chapman suspension aside, the Yankees know exactly what they are getting from the 28-year-old flame throwing lefty. The trade for Hicks should not be read into that much. It was clearly a move to provide young cover for an aging and oft injured outfield. The Castro move however was much more of a head scratcher. Ever since the departure of Robinson Cano, the Yankees have struggled to find an acceptable replacement. Both Brian Roberts and Stephen Drew were tapped to fill the void and they turned out to be complete liabilities. Realizing this, Cashman pulled off the most underrated offseason move when he traded Adam Warren, yes a very reliable reliever who could also start games, and Brendan Ryan, a 34-year-old backup to the Cubs to acquire Castro’s services. Castro, who just turned 26 in March is a dynamic 3x All-Star who when paired with Didi Gregorius in the center of the Yankees infield provides an exciting duo that should have Yankees fans foaming at the mouth. Since the departure of Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano, the Yankees have not be able to find stability and consistency in the infield but the addition of Castro is a huge step in the right direction.

The move for Castro was questionable at first given the fact that he struggled for much of the 2015 season batting .265/.296/.375 which is well-below average especially considering that he batted an excellent .292/.339/.438 the season before. His 2015 problems were so significant that Cubs manager Joe Maddon benched him. At one point Castro’s batting average and on-base percentage ranked last among major league shortstops. Now looking at these stats it is clear why some fans were wary of the Castro move but they can put their minds at ease. Castro was slumping, all ball players go through rough patches at some point and luckily for the Yankees Cashman capitalized on it and was able to bring Castro to the Bronx in a lopsided move in favor of the Pinstripes. The Yankees got a real bargain out of this trade, Castro is a dangerous hitter and after playing very well in a big market he has shown he can handle it considering he is now playing in the Bronx where fans, visitors, and the media have no problem expressing just how they feel about a player. They say to never fall in love with a player in September or March but only an idiot would ignore what Castro did during Spring training. He batted .367/.373/.571 during spring training and treated Yankee fans with plays like this:
[mlbvideo id=”556451683″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /] Starlin Castro is without a doubt one of the most talented young infielders in the game, he had 991 before his 26th birthday, led the National League in hits in 2011 and is a 3x All-Star. For a player who only broke onto the baseball scene in 2010 he is already building a substantial résumé and just now beginning to enter his prime years.    

So far the move to New York has boosted Castro’s motivation. After his issues at the plate as well as in the field last year that resulted in his benching, Castro needed a change of scenery and the move to the Yankees has presented him with exactly that. Back in January, Castro recalled a phone conversation he had with Mr. October himself, Reggie Jackson, about how excited he was to be joining the Yankees, and how joining a team with a tradition of winning was the “perfect” situation considering the stage of his career that he is entering this season. Yankees fans need to put aside any lingering questions about the Castro trade and reciprocate the same feeling of excitement that Castro feels about becoming part of the New York Yankees. The new look Yankees is dramatically different from the Yankees of the last decade but it is for the better and Yankees fans should be excited at the idea that Cashman and the rest of the front office is looking for cornerstones to invest in to build another dynasty the ‘96 Yankees team would be proud of.
Side note: The Yankees first game of the season did not go according to plan but Starlin Castro started off hot.

Starlin Castro makes his presence felt early. 2-0 #Yankees after two. #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/aFd0rJ1FoZ

— ESNY (@EliteSportsNY) April 5, 2016