Who Can the Mets Trade Castillo For?

by Bobby Baseball on Dec 9, 2009 5:53 PM EST

With all the rumors surrounding the Mets, it seems almost all of them involve moving second baseman Luis Castillo in some way or another. Most of the AAOPs here also included moving Castillo. The Mets want to free up some payroll and free up second base to perhaps get younger, find better power, better defense, sign Orlando Hudson, whatever it may be. So let's use this thread to identify some of the players the Mets may be able to realistically trade Slappy McSingleton for.

Milton Bradley. The Cubs are in the same situation with Bradley as the Mets are with Castillo. They want him out. And Bradley certainly wants out himself. When he made those comments a few months ago about the fans at Wrigley Field, there was no question that he wanted out. Bradley is also under a bad contract. So it makes a lot of sense for the Cubs to jump on any chance to move him. The Mets need another outfielder to play left field, and some people on this site even think that Francouer and Pagan are so bad, the Mets need two more outfielders. The Mets also need power. So Bradley could be a cheaper alternative to Matt Holliday. The Cubs need a second baseman. Last year they had Aaron Mills there, but he was just traded. The Cubs have top prospect Starlin Castro waiting in the minors, and when he comes up to play shortstop Ryan Theriot would slide over to second. But some say that Castro could use some more seasoning. The Cubs could also use another table setter and Castillo obviously fits that mold. Why do we need a third team?

Juan Pierre. The Dodgers need a second baseman, now that Orlando Hudson is gone. With James Loney playing adequate defense over at first base and Rafael Furcal being stellar over at short, Castillo's poor defense wouldn't be as much of a problem (behind Castillo, in right field, Andre Ethier plays a horrible defense, but what are the chances Ned Colleti notices that and takes it into account?). The Mets need another outfielder, and even if Pierre doesn't play every day he would be great on the bench. He brings the speed and table setting abilities that Castillo brought, and he plays great defense. He doesn't provide any power at all, but hey, neither did Castillo. Pierre also has a bloated contract, and with Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp, and Ethier manning the Dodgers outfield, there is no place for Pierre.

Derek Lowe. The Mets wanted him last offseason and while he had an off year, they still might have some interest. Had he signed the Mets offer, he would have made $36 million for three years. He had three years left on his contract, during which he will make $48 million. The Braves are obviously going to have to eat some of this salary here, because of this. Anyway, the Braves view Kelly Johnson as a trade chip, and Martin Prado has never been a full time player. The Braves have a surplus of starting pitching, and the Mets have a need. Could possibly work.

Thats all I have for now. Any other ideas?

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The Cubs are in a difficult position but they do have some interesting prospects

Last year they thought was going to be the year, they thought Bradley would put them over the top instead he had a down year and was a major headache. the only way they can salvage this thing is to get rid of Bradley ASAP so they can get a CF and make the other moves they need to. The pressure is on. Do they see their small window of opportunity slam shut or will they pay us with prospects to take Bradley and his $ off their hands and buy high on Castillo? I’d take Bradley and “give up” Castillo if we could also pick up some of their prospects in high A or AA. With some skillful handling Bradley could be a plus player or with some pr rehab trade bait or could even net us a #1 and a supp draft pick in 2 years. Granted it’s a big risk but at the least it would provide some good competition with in the farm system and should net us a couple of good young players at positions we’ll need to fill in 2-3 years. For the Cubs they get to compete this year and next without disturbing their 25 man roster and they certainly wouldn’t be the first team to follow one desperate move with another.

by t agee on Dec 10, 2009 2:28 PM EST reply actions

Like I said in my AAOP, it's not worth trading Castillo

His range is regressing, his knees are always going to be problematic, his “power” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and his contract is horrible. So, yeah, it’s going to be hard to move him. Is it worth moving him, though? I don’t think so, mainly because there isn’t really anyone out there who is a FA, or is obtainable through trade that is going to be (a) a massive upgrade over Castillo, and/or (b) cost about as much as Castillo.

We could theoretically trade him to whoever, just to dump him, but we’re going to likely end up paying a considerable amount of his contract ($6 million for 2010 and 2011). Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that we end up paying only 50% of his contract. That means, in 2010, we allocate $3 million for him. We then go on and sign Orlando Hudson, the likeliest person for Omar to sign to replace Castillo, who gets a deal, and makes, say $7 million a year. Ultimatley, Hudson isn’t all that much of an improvement over Castillo, and we’re suddenly allocating $10 million dollars to second base ($3 million + $7 million), instead of the $6 million we would if we left Castillo where he was.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Dec 10, 2009 3:02 PM EST reply actions

Most likely it will probably be best to live with Castillo

and I certainly wouldn’t want to pay even more for a player who is not significantly better but if we could pick up some prospects, even if we had to pay to get them, I’d be interested.

by t agee on Dec 10, 2009 3:51 PM EST up reply actions

An unrealistic proposal, though.

cjmulrain reminded me of this.

So, the Marlins are looking to supposedly shop Dan Uggla. Luis Castillo is still popular among Marlins fans, because of his presence on their World Series winning teams. Castillo, I remember hearing on an interview with him on a Mets Extra broadcast, likes Miami. The Marlins are a young, impatient club, and Uggla and Ramirez got into that fight last season. Castillo is a veteran, so he brings a veteran presence to a club that is sorely lacking one, and would be a good number two hitter for them- someone who can be patient, take balls, and foul off pitches while Ramirez is on base.

The drawback is twofold, if this theoretical deal went through. One, Castillo and Uggla make about the same amount of money. Castillo makes $6 million, and Uggla makes just about six million. Since the Marlins are a very fiscally conservative team, we’d probably end up paying all of Castillo’s contract, effectively doubling the amount of money we have invested at second (Castillo’s $6 million plus Uggla’s $6 million). Uggla provides an offensive boost that no other second basemen can match, save Utley. The second drawback is Uggla’s defense, of course. I don’t know how to interpret advanced defense stats just yet, but based on the naked eye, I’d say that Castillo was the better defender. A weaker defensive player at second base makes things harder for Mike Pelfrey, Sean Green, and any other sinkerballers we might sign/obtain through trade.

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Dec 10, 2009 3:37 PM EST reply actions

fielding

last year, Uggla was -9.6 UZR/150, and over his career he is -2.9/150. His WAR has been 4.1, 2.7, 4.9, & 2.9 last year. Castillo was -12.0 UZR/150 last year, and has actually been -4.7/150 over the past 4 years, worse than Uggla. His WAR has been 2.1, 2.4, 0.6, 1.6.

It seems like even best case scenario for Castillo is worse than worst case scenario for Uggla. And Castillo’s defense could actually still be declining – it seems likely that Uggla is gonna bounce between bad and decent defensively for the next few years. I don’t know that the Mets would have to pick up all of Castillo’s contract – what about just 3 or 4 million of it. The last two years Uggla has been worth $13 and $16 million dollars, so paying $9-10 for him really wouldn’t be that bad.

Interestingly, if you believe that a player can be an every other year type guy (like Brett Saberhagen and even Tom Seaver), Uggla seems as good a candidate as any for a bounce back year this year. He was fantastic in 2006 (both in the field and at the plate), just ok at the plate and bad in the field in 2007, fantastic at the plate and decent in the field in 2008, and ok at the plate and awful in the field in 2009.

"[The Giants] beat us down. We were beat by a grown-man team, a team we want to be like one day. They came in here and took it to us. Out-manned us, out-gunned us. ... It wasn't even close." - Raheem Morris, 9/27/09

by cjmulrain on Dec 10, 2009 4:28 PM EST up reply actions

castillo is'nt that bad of a fielder

luis is average and naturally declining for several years…..since his gg days….no
on lowe for luis….the mets are going to have to package castillo and a couple of prospects plus some cash to some team like cleveland for K. WOOD or some
one that makes about ten million or more where a team wants to get out of the
contract…and no on pierre….

by 1969met on Dec 11, 2009 8:34 PM EST reply actions