As appealing as "Starlin the Marlin" marketing opportunities are, we sadly may never reach such a point. That's because Marlins second baseman Starlin Castro, acquired from the Yankees as part of the Giancarlo Stanton buster of blocks, wants no further part of the turd motel that is the Miami baseball club. The dirty from Ken Rosenthal ...
#Marlins’ Starlin Castro wants to be traded, sources tell The Athletic. Does not want to be part of another rebuilding process the way he was with the #Cubs.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 10, 2018
Castro, who's going into his age-28 campaign, is coming off a 2017 season in which he batted .300/.338/.454 (106 OPS+) with 16 home runs in 112 games for the Yankees. For his career, he owns an OPS+ of 98 across parts of eight big-league seasons. On the money front, Castro is owed roughly $23 million through 2019, and his contract also includes a $16 million option/$1 million buyout for 2020.
While Castro's defensive skills seem to be on the wane, he's got a playable bat by the standards of middle infielders. Teams potentially in need of help at second base in 2018 and beyond include the Mets and Rays. That, of course, is not an exhaustive list.
