As Chicago Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro sits, who else should be on a contender's bench?
OK, so the headline on Jay Jaffe's latest for SI.com is a little misleading...
"Cubs improve playoff odds with Starlin Castro on outside looking in"
... since Jay never actually says that, exactly. What he does say: the Cubs are better without Castro in the lineup, and I think he's probably right.
Last Friday, manager Joe Maddon benched Castro in favor of starting Addison Russell at shortstop, where he spent nearly all of his minor-league career but had made just five spot starts since being promoted. At second base in place of Russell was Chris Coghlan, who hadn't started at the keystone since May 8, 2009, the game in which he made his major-league debut. Filling Coghlan's regular spot in leftfield was Kyle Schwarber, who had started eight of the team's previous 11 games at catcher, with just two previous games in left. David Ross started behind the plate for that game, but on Saturday, Miguel Montero returned from a three-week absence due to a sprained left thumb. The revamped lineup, which outscored the Giants 15-9 over the final three games of the series, could be here to stay.This could be the beginning of the end of Castro's time in the Windy City, though it's more likely he would be traded this winter than immediately, considering the complications of August waiver deals and the fact that his value may be at its nadir. The 25-year-old shortstop is amid his worst major-league season, batting just .236/.271/.304 for a 60 OPS+ -- all career worsts -- with just five homers and four stolen bases. Via Defensive Runs Saved, he's been six runs below average in the field as well en route to -1.3 WAR, tied with the Phillie's Cody Asche for the NL's third-lowest mark; only Angel Pagan (-1.9) and Jayson Werth (-1.7) have been worse. Russell's play at shortstop drew rave reviews from Coghlan and Saturday's starter, John Lester, both of whom praised his athleticism. It's not hard to imagine this configuration sticking so long as the team is winning.
Man, you gotta hand it to Joe Maddon. There aren't many managers who would actually plan to use Kyle Schwarber in the outfield AND Chris Coghlan in the infield. Is the run-prevention hit more than balanced by the run-scoring boost?
Hell, I don't know. Neither does Maddon. But there's something to be said for what-the-hell boldness, especially when you're playing with house money. As the Cubs are this season.
But all this got me to wondering about other players who arguably should be benched down the stretch. Now, I'm not smart enough to come up with another Schwarber/Coghlan/Russell Gambit. What I might do is spot a few players who a) haven't played well for a contender and aren't likely to, and b) might be replaced with someone better, in whole or in part.
Well, turns out there aren't many situations like that. For the simple reason that most of the easy solutions have already been identified and applied. What's that? Your shortstop's not hitting? Just call up Carlos Correa!
And so I'm sure that if the Yankees had Carlos Correa in the minors, they wouldn't still have Stephen Drew playing second base almost every day. Actually, Drew's been so bad that half his playing time's gone to Brendan Ryan lately. The Yankees did give prospect Rob Refsnyder an extremely brief trial last month, but apparently his glove just isn't tolerable. Sorta like Johnny Giavotella's before the Angels got him.
This season, then, it's probably Drew and Ryan or bust for the Yankees.
What about Omar Infante and Alex Rios and the Royals, though? Both have been dreadful this season ... and it just so happens the Royals just traded for Ben Zobrist, who's well-known for playing Infante's and Rios' positions -- second base and right field -- quite adroitly. But with the Royals a mortal lock to win the American League Central, is there any reason to make real changes now? Maybe not. But once Alex Gordon's off the disabled list, the Royals will look even better if Zobrist is playing practically every day. Which should mean fewer starts for Infante and/or Rios. And it'll be good for Ned Yost's noggin if he's got a good plan in place before October.
Are the Twins a lost cause? Yeah, probably. But if they're going to keep trying until they're obviously dead, then why not really? Alas, that would mean benching Joe Mauer against left-handed pitchers, and calling up Kennys Vargas to play regularly against the lefties. But turning Mauer into a platoon player is about as likely as the Vikings moving to Venezuela.
What's a lot more likely is the Mets getting Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson out of their lineup before long. Neither was hailed as a savior when the Mets got him, but both were expected to pay some modest dividends. Instead, both have been terrible. And while both are almost certainly better hitters than their recent numbers suggest, before long this might be mooted by the return of David Wright, who should reassume his duties at third base, with Daniel Murphy taking over at second. Which, if you believe in Michael Conforto, would actually give the so-recently maligned Mets a pretty solid lineup, one through eight.
Speaking of the National League East, it's a race largely because Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth have been so awful this season. Zimmerman's gotten hot just in the last few games, but Werth's numbers remain putrid. So maybe a little more playing time for Triple-A veteran Clint Robinson? With Zimmerman and Werth both right-handed hitters and Robinson a lefty, there's little excuse for not getting Robinson into the lineup nearly every time a righty starts for the other team. Well, little excuse except Robinson's poor defense wherever he might play. But there should be a smart way to find more at-bats for Robinson, and fewer for Werth.
In the National League Central, the Cardinals seem well-positioned and you already know about the Cubs. One does wonder what the Pirates will do when shortstop Jordy Mercer and super-utilityman Josh Harrison come off the DL. Might I suggest benching first baseman Pedro Alvarez against lefties and benching Aramis Ramirez against righties? And benching medium-utilityman Sean Rodriguez against everybody?
Finally, we've got the Dodgers, who continue to play Jimmy Rollins at shortstop. Regularly. Even though he's barely been better than replacement-level this season ... and the Dodgers might now have the single-best minor-league player. And he's a shortstop. Alas, while you might not have been paying attention, Corey Seager's homered just once in his last 24 Triple-A games. He's still a tremendous prospect, of course. But it's no longer quite so obvious that he's better than Rollins, at this very moment. Still, when Justin Turner returns to the lineup (soon), that will leave shortstop as the only hole in the Dodgers' lineup. And it seems unlikely that this organization, at this moment, won't address that last remaining hole.
