Mets Rumors: Starlin Castro trade update, off the table?

In today's Mets rumors and news update, the New York Mets might not be able to pry All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro away from the Chicago Cubs prior to the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline.

According to Jon Morosi of FOX Sports 1, the 24-year-old phenom could be off-limits for the time being:

Starlin Castro has drawn some trade interest, but the Cubs do not plan to move him this month, sources say. @FOXSports1

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 18, 2014

The general feeling around Chicago after the team acquired super-prospect Addison Russell from the A's in this month's Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel deal was that Castro would eventually become expendable. Cubs general manager Theo Epstein hasn't been shy about pawning off his top MLB talent to build the team's long-term fortunes, and most assumed that Castro could end up being another trade chip in that process.

However, with Castro now seemingly off the table (and reportedly moving to third base in 2015), the Mets might need to look elsewhere for middle infield help before the deadline. They may not have to look far though, depending on if Chicago deems Triple-A shortstop Javier Baez as fair game with Castro and Russell seemingly locked in.

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