Yankees Midseason Report Card: Infielders

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Jul 5, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro (14) hits a single during the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports /

Second Baseman: Starlin Castro

The Yankees trade for Starlin Castro last winter was controversial at the time, and only looks worse now. The club sent swingman Adam Warren, who had a 3.29 ERA in 131 innings for the Bombers in 2015, to the Cubs for Castro, who had been one of the worst hitters in the National League for two of the previous three seasons.

Castro did have several above average seasons on his resume but hadn’t produced consistently in his young career. Sending one of the Yankees’ best pitchers to Chicago for a project was a definite risk, especially considering the team had an internal option at second base who many evaluators thought could out-hit Castro.

Rob Refsnyder hit .302/.348/.512 in 47 PAs when given the starting second base job in September of 2015. He came without Castro’s $40 million salary commitment and didn’t require the Yankees to surrender valuable pitching depth.

With Refsnyder out-hitting Castro this year (as expected), this trade looks like a clear loss for New York. Starlin Castro has batted .258/.296/.403 (84 wRC+) in his first 329 PAs of 2016. Even worse, he has struggled to adjust to life at the keystone, ranking as a below average defender by most metrics.

The overall package has resulted in a below replacement level player for the Yankees at -0.2 fWAR. The expensive Castro refuses to draw walks, hacks at pitches out of the zone and is prone to mental mistakes on the basepaths. Like it or not, he’s one of the players the Yankees have to build around since he’s under contract another three years.

Midseason Grade: D

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