Starlin Castro Reportedly Clears Revocable Trade Waivers

Marlins second baseman Starlin Castro has cleared revocable trade waivers and is now eligible to be dealt to any club, reports SiriusXM’s Craig Mish (Twitter link).

Castro, 28, is still owed the balance of this season’s $10MM salary (roughly $2.19MM) in addition to next year’s $11MM salary and a $1MM buyout of a $16MM option for the 2020 season. In total, Miami still owes him a fairly sizable $14.19MM through the end of the 2019 campaign. Given the team’s salary-shedding measures in the 2017-18 offseason, it’s possible that the Marlins would’ve been happy to simply let another club pick up the remainder of that tab and further clear payroll, so it’s not a huge surprise to see him go unclaimed.

That’s not to say that Castro is overpaid, though. He’s more than lived up to his contract thus far in 2018, hitting at a .287/.335/.407 clip with 10 homers, 26 doubles and a triple while playing roughly average defense at second base. While other clubs may not be keen on absorbing the remainder of his salary obligations at this time of year, especially with few contenders in the market for second base upgrades, the Marlins could potentially drum up some interest if they express a willingness to offset some of that salary.

The Indians, in particular, have been connected to some second basemen on the rumor circuit in recent weeks, though there’s been nothing to suggest that Cleveland (or any other club) has any substantial interest in Castro. To that end, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported earlier this month that the Marlins didn’t receive any serious interest in Castro prior to the non-waiver trade deadline.

Castro doesn’t seem especially likely to move even after today’s report, but even if he stays put, the Miami front office figures to gauge interest in him (and other shorter-term assets) once again this offseason as it continues to take a long-term approach to rebuilding the organization.