Yanks get Castro from Cubs, who sign Lackey, Zobrist

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.

The Yankees were all too happy to take Castro off the Cubs’ hands. Once that happened, the two sides pulled the trigger.

Along with the Cubs, the Mets had offered Zobrist a four-year deal, but he opted to sign with the Cubs due to their proximity to his home in Nashville and his relationship with Cubs manager Joe Maddon.

Mets assistant GM John Ricco spoke with the media after Zobrist signed with Chicago and said that the Mets have a backup plan that was put in place by GM Sandy Alderson.

“Because I’m not playing, I don’t want to be a bad teammate and be bad with my guys”, Castro said.

In the Yankees’ mind, Castro fits that bill. Zobrist has logged 616 career games at second base, 336 in right field, 229 at shortstop and 111 in left field. Plus, Mark gives us his thoughts on Barry Bonds as hitting coach, Don Mattingly as manager, a possible contract extension for second baseman Dee Gordon, and what is on Miami’s wish list this offseason? He hit just. 265 last season, but did his. But in 2015, Castro experienced a bit of a down year.

Castro, who lives near the Yankees’ spring training complex in Tampa, Florida, is guaranteed $38 million over the remainder of his contract, which is guaranteed through 2019 and includes a club option for 2020.

Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers the Chicago Cubs for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN Radio 1000. “Offensively, I think we all think his better days are ahead of him”. “The public stated goal is to get younger and compete for the championship every year”. Castro had been the Cubs’ shortstop from 2010-15 before being moved to second base this past August to make room for rookie Addison Russell, and the move seemed to spark the infielder after what had been a terrible season to that point. As a reliever, he went 1-1 with a 2.29 ERA with 26 outings while striking out 37 men in 35.1 innings. Let’s check in on what’s been going on with a couple of teams who don’t get almost enough attention from the mainstream sports media, the Cubs and the Yankees.

“I don’t like robbing Peter to pay Paul”, Cashman said. “I still felt the upside was on the everyday piece”. The Mets learned late Tuesday night that Walker was available, and by mid-afternoon yesterday, Niese’s eight-year Flushing tenure was over. They wanted Zobrist badly, publicly singling him out as their top priority as they try to improve a roster that appeared in the World Series in 2015. 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. Zobrist is from Eureka, Ill., about 135 miles southwest of Chicago.

While Zobrist was being introduced by the Cubs on the second floor of the Opryland Hotel on Wednesday, Red Sox president Dave Dombrowski was up in his sixth-floor suite speaking to the Boston media about his uneventful afternoon.