Milwaukee Brewers: Starlin Castro demands a trade?

The Miami Marlins are two or three deals away from having Derek Jeter in their starting infield. Recently acquired second baseman Starlin Castro has demanded a trade to a contender. Could the Milwaukee Brewers get a bargain?

Reports surfaced out of Miami that Starlin Castro isn’t looking to join another rebuild. He went through the process once with the Chicago Cubs, and doesn’t want to go through that again. When players come out publicly with a trade demand, a deal usually follows.

Would Castro fit in with the Milwaukee Brewers?

The answer is still yes and no. Castro can play a solid second base, and he does have pop. The issue lies in his .320 OBP.  That’s not nearly high enough to hit near the top of the order every day.

Castro did post a .374 OBP against left-handers last year, so he could conceivably fit into the lead off spot against lefties. He also posted a .327 OBP against right-handers last year. That’s not nearly good enough to hit in front of Ryan Braun and Eric Thames.

Are other teams in on Castro?

You would think so wouldn’t you? The rumor a few weeks ago was that the Miami Marlins wanted to attach Castro in a deal with other players. Whether they wanted to do a package deal with J.T. Realmuto or unload even more salary with their mediocre relievers, Miami wanted to add him to a deal instead of deal him straight up. That could change with the trade demand.

There aren’t any teams linked to Castro right now, but that could change in the time it takes to make a phone call.

What does the trade demand do to Castro’s value?

His value wasn’t really that high in the first place. Castro’s contract isn’t terrible, but there are other options on the market that are available and don’t require C-Level prospects going back to Miami. Whatever he gets dealt for isn’t going to be much. A team could just take on his entire salary or the Marlins could eat some of it. It really depends on what type of prospect the Marlins want. If they want a B-Level prospect, they’ll pay Castro to play for someone else. If they really don’t care, they’ll take a 17-year old that no one has ever heard of.

Next: Has Alex Cobb lowered his demands?

Castro could fit in with the Milwaukee Brewers. He’s a better option than the current choices, and his contract will fit in with the rebuild. If GM David Stearns wants to compete next year, adding Castro makes sense. However, if Stearns wants to continue to build from within, he’ll stay away from Castro. Allowing Jonathan Villar to rebuild his value, or Mauricio Dubon to claim the job makes more sense for the long term plan.