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Chicago Cubs Rumors: Javier Baez, Not Starlin Castro, Should Be Traded for Pitching Help

In 2015, the Chicago Cubs took the step many thought wouldn't happen until 2016 or 2017 and became a contender. While they were able to win 97 games during the regular season and make it to the NLCS before getting knocked out by the New York Mets, there are still holes on this team to fill. Numerous rumors have been flying around about what exactly they'll do and who will be moved where, but if they were smart, they'd trade Javier Baez and not Starlin Castro.

A lot of Cubs fans and baseball analysts may not agree with that, but there are plenty of reasons why it makes more sense than any other option.

First off, consider the amount of return value for Baez compared to Castro. There aren't a lot of teams out there, if any, who would give up quality starting pitching for Castro at this point in time. He's simply been inconsistent over the past couple of seasons and MLB franchises have certainly taken notice. However, Baez would command the attention of almost anyone out there, and the chances of landing a big difference-maker such as Sonny Gray increase immensely -- or at the very least, talks about possible deals could happen.

Then one must think about the current contract situations of each player. Right now, Baez has six years of control within the organization. While that's a plus for the Cubs, it's also a plus for any team looking to deal for him, and only improves his value. Meanwhile, Castro has four years left on his deal worth about $37 million in salary. Contrary to Baez's situation, Castro's deal isn't super team-friendly for the amount of production he's been giving the past couple of seasons. That may put teams off just a bit more when considering any deal involving him.

Finally -- and this kind of goes against everything bad I've been saying about Castro and everything good I've been saying about Baez -- but Castro is actually better for the Cubs in the immediate future than Baez.

Call me crazy all you want, but hear me out.

Why did the Cubs struggle so much offensively in the NLCS? Because they don't have enough contact hitters on the team.

Addison Russell, who is the team's mainstay at shortstop, is a solid contact man who was out for that series due to a hamstring injury. In comes Baez, and what does he do? As an all-out fence swinger, he struck out time and time again instead of just trying to make contact against good Mets pitchers.

While Baez's power is perhaps his biggest asset, it's also his greatest weakness against great pitchers who command the ball well. To be honest, the Cubs have more than enough power already on the roster in Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber, among others. They don't need Baez, and he provides the most bang for the buck.

While that makes a case against Baez, how does it make a case to keep Castro? The 25-year-old turned his career projection around after being benched last season by manager Joe Maddon.

Prior to his benching on Aug. 7, Castro was hitting just .236 with a .271 on-base percentage in 104 games, which isn't that much better than Baez's weak average and OBP during his 80-game MLB career. Following that time, Castro went on to hit .353 with a .373 OBP in 47 games, and earned a starting job back -- this time at second while Russell remained at short.

Maddon made a great call and reinvigorated Castro's season, and potentially, his entire career.

That stretch that covered most of August and all of September showed that Castro still has potential and may not have hit his prime during his early years where he proved to be a great contact hitter. Granted, his trade value hasn't gone up much with the success he showed during the last two months of the year, but he can still be a more-than-serviceable starting second baseman if he keeps it up during 2016 because of his offensive ability.

All in all, when you already have Russell at shortstop for the long-term, what good is keeping Baez going to do for your team? He should be viewed as a major trade chip to get a big-time starting pitcher, and nothing more. The Cubs will hopefully be smart here and recognize that as the offseason begins shortly.

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