Miami Marlins Trade Rumors: Four Possible Destinations for Starlin Castro

Arizona Diamondbacks

Situation

The Arizona Diamondbacks lead the NL West with a 39-30 record, 2.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ketel Marte holds down second base, slashing .249/.304/.409 in 66 games.

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Nick Ahmed, at shortstop, is not doing quite as well. Slashing just .218/.280/.407 in 64 games, Ahmed has nine home runs and 31 RBI, and has drawn 19 walks versus 50 strikeouts. These figures are right in line with his career numbers, and are unlikely to improve by much. With the 28-year-old Ahmed, you’re getting what you’re seeing.

Defensively for Ahmed, the picture is a lot better. He’s a slightly above average fielder at shortstop. He’s 39 fielding runs better-than-average over 344 appearances through his major league career. That’s a little better than Castro, so the D-Backs would be giving up some defense for a lot more pop on the other side of the game.

Solution

Again, Castro is slightly below average fielding at shortstop, but he’s a lot better with the stick. He also gives Arizona some flexibility, as he’s more than capable at taking some starts at second if needed. Ahmed is better suited as a situational starter anyway.

The Return

Jasrado Chisholm

Jasrado Chisholm, also a shortstop (but four seasons away from impacting a major league team) is a 20-year-old Bahamian lefty-hitter. In three seasons between the Missoula Osprey and the Kane County Cougars, he has slashed .262/.323/.437 with 19 home runs and 75 RBI. Very raw defensively, he has 49 errors in 140 games at the position.

Daulton Varsho

Daulton Varsho is a 5’10” catcher from Chili, WI. The Diamondbacks drafted him in the second round in 2017. Varsho is fast for a catcher, with 60 grade speed, and has 22 stolen bases in 107 professional games. He’s slashing .300/.373/.499 over two levels of minor league “A” ball. The lingering question to his game is arm strength, tied into footwork behind the plate. Varsho is athletic enough, however, to transition his game to the outfield if needed.

Gabriel Maciel

Gabriel Maciel was signed as a 16-year-old free agent out of Brazil by Arizona in 2015. Now 19, Maciel’s key attribute is his plus-speed, graded out at 65. He has slashed .290/.353/.357 in 150 games over the last three seasons, with 36 stolen bases in 150 contests.

Jhoan Duran

Jhoan Duran is a 6’5″, 175 lb. right-hander out of the Dominican Republic. He’s already in the mid-90’s with his fastball, but he could come up a lot as his frame fills out, preferably in the 210+ range. He initially signed in 2014, and has a #3 starter ceiling. In four seasons he’s 14-11 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.317 WHIP, and 162 whiffs in 199 2/3 innings.

Next: Jose Urena is better than you think

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