Mets Must Accept Reality on Castillo
By Mike Silva ~ December 9th, 2009. Filed under: Mike Silva.
Add Gary Matthews Jr. to the list of individuals who may be swapped for Luis Castillo. Many believe moving his 2 year $12 million dollar contract is the key for spending this offseason. Now that Jeff Wilpon is learning that shopping at the top shelf of free agency is expensive, but provides better return, moving Castillo is that much more important. How frustrating would it be if Castillo forces the Mets to pass on Matt Holliday or John Lackey?
The reason I bring up Matthews is because it’s about as good as you are going to get. It’s no secret the Angels want to move Matthews and the remaining $23 million on his contract. Last night there was talk of Tony Reagins shopping his middle infielders. The dollars don’t match with Castillo, but the point is the Mets need to decide if pursuing a Castillo trade is worth the time. It’s safe to say they know the kind of bad contract they would be receiving since I don’t think much of that will change after Indianapolis. Ben Shpigel talks about the Mets desire to change the clubhouse culture as one of the reasons for them dealing him. Ironically the most logical move from a financial perspective is Pat Burrell and his $9 million dollars. Do you really think Burrell will bring energy to the clubhouse?
The point is it’s time for the Mets to accept that Luis Castillo is an albatross. Hopefully they learn from history (I said that again didn’t I?) and don’t make the same mistake with some of the second tier players in this market. I can accept living with Matt Holliday and John Lackey towards the end of their deal if they produce All Star results in the front end. The Mets still have tons of holes to fill in their bullpen, rotation, bench, and outfield. There are still plenty of opportunities to import an “energy guy”, but hopefully one that can play a little baseball. Yorvit Torrealba, who the Mets seem to be hot on, is an example of someone that could fit that description.
Luis Castillo is 33 years old – not a promising age for gimpy middle infielders. If he gives you any production close to his form in 06′, 07′, and 09′ it will be more than offset with the offense a Matt Holliday would bring. His range is diminishing, but I don’t see him at the point where you can’t live with it. Would I love to move Castillo for Orlando Hudson? In a minute, but the Mets have bigger issues to attend. Accept that you can’t do any better than Pat Burrell, Juan Pierre, Gary Matthews, or Milton Bradley and move on. It’s one of the rare examples this offseason where patience will not pay off.
