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San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs discussing Starlin Castro, Tyson Ross

By Michael Natelli

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The San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs have reportedly discussed shortstop Starlin Castro, per FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi. Castro has been mentioned as a potential trade chip for the Cubs on many fronts as they look to add pitching.

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The Padres are letting the baseball world know that they’re sellers, but Castro is still appealing due to the four years left on his deal. The 25-year-old is in the midst of the most trying season of his career, hitting .233 with just 15 total extra-base hits. However, the career .278 hitter has been good for at least 29 doubles in each of his first five full seasons, and could stand to turn things around with a change of scenery. Castro’s also just a year removed from a season that saw him hit .292 with 33 doubles, 14 home runs and a trip to the All-Star game, so there’s reason to believe he’ll turn things around either this year or next.

The Cubs are reportedly looking to acquire one of the Padres’ controllable pitchers in return, with Tyson Ross being the top target. Ross is 6-8 with a 3.45 ERA this season, and while he’s been good at keeping the ball in the ballpark (he leads the league with a 0.2 HR/9 ratio), he also leads the league with 57 walks. But in spite of his command issues, the 2014 All-Star has been more than serviceable for San Diego this season, and could benefit from a move to the Cubs much like current Chicago pitcher Jake Arrieta did after struggling with his command in Baltimore.

One thing that now seems apparent is that the Cubs aren’t keen on going after former Joe Maddon player James Shields, whom the Padres are attempting to move to clear his backloaded contract. With David Price, Johnny Cueto and other big-name pitchers set to hit the open market in the winter, it appears that the Cubs would rather save their cash and put it towards one of them (or perhaps Cole Hamels?) rather than overpay for a past-prime Shields.

Whether a deal comes to fruition between the Cubs and Padres remains unclear, but it’s a storyline to watch as Friday gets closer.

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