Zobrist agrees to $56 million, 4-year deal with Cubs

“And who’s to say what you would have done or what caused the problem?”

“It hasn’t and isn’t part of our DNA to accept that full-blown commitment to a rebuild”, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.

Not only did they sign John Lackey to a two-year deal, but they reunited skipper Joe Maddon and switch-hitting utility man, Ben Zobrist with a four-year deal worth $56 million, opening the door for Starlin Castros departure.

In addition to the Giants and Nationals wanting Zobrist, the Mets reportedly did as well. All they need to do is fill that hole in center field and they’ll be good to go with only two months before they report to training camp in Mesa, Arizona.

“It was a slam dunk for us”, Zobrist said.

But you don’t have to love the actual trade of Castro for Warren and the unknown player, expected to be veteran infielder Brendan Ryan. Once that happened, the two sides pulled the trigger.

Castro is just a season removed from his career best weighted on base average (wOBA) of.341, and this total would have ranked fifth best among second basemen this season.

“Because I’m not playing, I don’t want to be a bad teammate and be bad with my guys”, Castro said. Since his second year in 2011, Castro hasn’t played in less than 134 games in a season throughout his career.

But now that he’s been dealt from the Cubs to the Yankees, Castro sounded thrilled to have landed in the Bronx.

“I thought there should have been a Super U player on the All-Star team”, he said. And they desperately needed a hitter like Zobrist, a doubles machine who gets on base and can play a handful of positions, fitting perfectly into the Joe Maddon mold. He hit just. 265 last season, but did his.

Now second base is his home for the foreseeable future.

The Yankees will pay Castro $37 million over the next four years. “I think the ownership’s comfort level is walking that tightrope rather than tear down and live to fight another day”. Despite rumblings weeks ago regarding left fielder Brett Gardner being swapped for the 25-year-old, the Yankees were able to keep the 2015 All-Star (at least for now) and instead traded two role players to Chicago. That duo appeared to be the plan heading into next season until the Castro trade materialized.

Warren, 28, went 7-7 with three holds, one save, a 1.16 WHIP and a 3.29 ERA (48 ER/131.1 IP) in 43 appearances with the Yankees last season, splitting time between the bullpen (1-1, 2.29 ERA in 26 appearances) and the starting rotation (6-6, 3.66 ERA in 17 starts).

There’s still plenty of players who could be on the move on Day 3 of the Major League Baseball winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, and we’ll have all the rumors and news right here in one convenient tracker.