Starlin Castro Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz and Speculation Surrounding Cubs SS

Starlin Castro is enduring the worst season of his MLB career. Maybe a change of scenery could help the Chicago Cubs shortstop find success at the plate.

Continue for updates.

---

Castro to be Utility Player for Cubs

Tuesday, Aug. 11

Castro will be utilized as a utility player, and will play shortstop when Addison Russell is given a day off, Joe Maddon said, per Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM.

The Cubs were looking to include Castro in "any deal", according to Jayson Stark of ESPN on July 30, who noted it was "interesting that Addison Russell was the starting shortstop on Wednesday.    

Fox Sports' Jon Morosi reported on July 27 the Padres were looking at a trade for Castro, while the Cubs were looking at San Diego's pitching options. 

Morosi looked at one scenario that makes financial sense for both teams:

It's debatable whether the 25-year-old would actually represent an upgrade.

While Castro is a three-time All-Star—most recently as last year—his performance in 2015 has been woeful, particularly offensively. Among qualified hitters, he is the second-worst player in the league in WAR (-0.9), per FanGraphs. He's also dead last in offensive runs above average (-24.9).

Craig Elsten of the Mighty 1090 AM in San Diego doesn't see Castro solving San Diego's infield issues:

Considering Castro's struggles this year, moving to the more pitcher-friendly Petco Park would likely only exacerbate his issues.

Certainly the Cubs would be happy to offload Castro, as it would free them up to play both Addison Russell and Javier Baez through the middle of the infield.