Zobrist joins Maddon, Cubs after Castro traded to Yankeess

Well, before the ink had even dried on the Zobrist deal, Castro was off to NY in exchange for pitcher Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan.

Or maybe we can evaluate it!

As Cubs president of baseball operations, Theo Epstein said: We could not have made this signing without this trade and would not have made this trade without this signing. But over the last few years, the Yankees have a new plan in mind, and it’s one that’s surely going to improve their ball club: they’re going to aim to make the team younger.

Since breaking onto the scene with the Cubs in 2010, Castro made the NL All-Star team three times (2011, 2012, and 2014) and was considered one of the game’s best young shortstops. “The evaluation comes down to the 130 games or more from the everyday position player”. At 23 he was terrible, at 24 he was really good again, and at 25 he was very bad again. As the Cubs accumulated middle infield talent in the minor leagues, Castro became more and more expendable. Starting pitching cost the Yankees last season, and they just gave up a reliable arm. More than half are in the Hall of Fame or will be, and most of the rest put together outstanding careers.

“It was really important for Ben to have a spot on the diamond”, Hoyer said.

The 10-year Major League Baseball veteran, whose priority was to join a contender, visited San Francisco and AT&T Park on Sunday, but the team did not expect him to pick the Giants due to his desire to play second base.

Gee, thanks fellas. And it seemed like such a simple question.

Castro was the only player worth watching on the Cubs for several years of the long and agonizing rebuild, and for that, Cubs fans should always be grateful. He continued to pitch pretty decently out of the pen for the remainder of the season.

When Castro first arrived in the majors as a 20-year-old in 2010, former Yankee Alfonso Soriano took him under his wing, inviting the rookie to stay at his Chicago home. “I got a front-row seat to watch it happen to my teammates – in their hearts and in my own – as we made the journey in the postseason and won those critical, (tough) games where you’re coming back from being down”. I think Holder or Wade would have been better for the future, but I understand the win now idea of this trade. Sveum had seen enough of what he called Castro’s “hiccups” in the field and told him exactly what he thought, which allegedly affected Castro’s play.

The Yankees have been starved for production at second base since the departure of Robinson Cano after the 2013 season. Whatever the preferred aging curve. As he continued to play well for the Mets, it started to look like he might have priced himself right out of NY. The Yankees are, as usual, correcting the ship and looking like they might not fade away just yet.