Cubs deal infielder Starlin Castro to the Yankees for pitcher Adam Warren

NASHVILLE, Tenn — Just like that, the Chicago Cubs suddenly became the most aggressive team at the Winter Meetings. Mere minutes after signing utility man Ben Zobrist to a four-year, $56 million deal, the team turned around and dealt infielder Starlin Castro to the New York Yankees for pitcher Adam Warren and infielder Brendan Ryan.

There was already some uncertainty regarding Castro’s playing time even before Zobrist was brought in. The Cubs have committed to Addison Russell at short, and still have Javier Baez as a possible bench piece. With Zobrist signed, it became even more imperative for the club to move someone. 

That always appeared to be the case. The Cubs deal with the Yankees was contingent on them signing Zobrist, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

[Related: The Cubs inked Ben Zobrist to a four-year deal]

The 25-year-old Castro is coming off a disappointing season at the plate, but did show promise at the end of the season. Castro hit just .265/.296/.375 on the year, but rebounded to hit .353/.373/.588 in 143 plate appearances after being benched for a few games in August. 

That’s a small sample, but there’s still reason to believe in a bounce back season for Castro. He owns a career .281/.321/.404 slash line, and there’s just no reason to believe he’ll be this bad again.

Defensively, Castro will play second base for New York, which is probably for the best. Castro’s experience at shortstop while in Chicago was marred by errors and occasional lapses in concentration, causing the team to eventually move him to second once Russell was ready. Didi Gregorius is regarded as an elite defensive shortstop, so there’s no way the club would even consider moving Castro back to his old position.

In Warren, the Cubs are getting a possible swingman who has seen time in both the rotation and the bullpen over the past few seasons. The 28-year-old has been better as a reliever, posting a 2.29 ERA over 35 1/3 innings season. That said, he was also effective as a starter, putting up a 3.66 ERA as a starter. 

All of Warren’s number take a hit as a starter, but that’s to be expected of most pitchers. He’s probably going to be used as a back end starter for the Cubs, and that seems like a fair expectation. If he struggles, the team can always slot him into the bullpen and hope his stuff plays up there again.

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The 33-year-old Ryan is regarded as an exceptional fielder who doesn’t have much of a bat. He’s hit just .234 over his nine-year career, and will likely be used as a defensive replacement with Chicago. Ryan played every single infield position, and some outfield last season (he also pitched once!), so he has that versatility manager Joe Maddon seems to desire.

If Castro can bounce back, the Yankees stand to benefit nicely from Chicago’s embarrassment of riches on the infield. But between this and the Zobrist move, the Cubs are going to receive all the headlines. 

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik