Mets Near Deal for Acquire Twins' Castillo

by Eric Simon on Jul 30, 2007 7:12 PM EDT in Transactions

Ken Rosenthal has the scoop, and says that two minor leaguers would head back to Minnesota. I've heard RHP Kevin Mulvey and 1B Mike Carp, both from Double-A Binghamton.

The Mets were close to signing Castillo as a free agent a few years ago, but he ended up staying in Florida before being dealt to Minnesota during the Marlins' last fire sale. Castillo doesn't strike me as a particularly useful player anymore, as he doesn't really steal bases, he has never hit for power, his defense isn't great anymore, and he has apparently stopped drawing walks. It ultimately depends on who the Mets will give up, but I don't see a lot of upside with Castillo here.

UPDATE [3:41pm]: Rosenthal has updated his article, and indicates that the Twins are looking at catcher Drew Butera (AA Binghamton) and outfielder Dustin Martin (A+ St. Lucie).

UPDATE [3:51pm]: Castillo is a free agent after this season, and was a Type B free agent last season. The Stats, Inc. ratings are based on two years worth of performance, and second basemen are grouped with shortstops and third basemen for the purposes of the rankings. It's conceivable but unlikely that Castillo will climb the rankings enough to be considered a Type A free agent. So, Castillo would at least be worth a sandwich pick in between the first and second rounds of next year's amateur draft, should he leave as a free agent.

UPDATE [4:53pm]: Dave Cameron at USS Mariner likes the deal for the Mets:

Remember the Ray Durham heist the A’s pulled off a few years ago, where they got two months of a solid player for nothing of consequence, then got two draft picks when Durham left as a free agent. This is the 2007 version of that. Terry Ryan simultaneously made his team worse now and in the future and got fleeced by Omar Minaya in the process.

UPDATE [5:39pm]: Omar Minaya is mum, at least according to Mets.com.

UPDATE [7:02pm]: Rotoworld likes it, too:

We understand why some Mets fans wanted to stick with Ruben Gotay, but Castillo remains the better bet on offense and is clearly better defensively. Considering the Mets gave up next to nothing to get him and likely will reap a supplemental first-round pick if they let him go at the end of the year, this is a big win for Omar Minaya. Castillo will start at second base most of the time and should take over as the Mets' No. 2 hitter. Gotay can play day games after night games. Carlos Beltran will likely go on the DL to open up a roster spot tomorrow.

UPDATE [7:09pm]: It's official.

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Comments

Boo!

Let's hope Rosenthal is wrong.

I'm just getting used to Ruben Gotay out there. Give him some more time and his defense will improve.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Jul 30, 2007 3:41 PM EDT 0 recs

this is a newspaper trade

so they can't say Omar didn't do anything while the Braves got Teixera and Dotel. Supposedly Rincon is the deal too

its a ground ball...trickling... its a fair ball, its by Buckner, rounding third Knight, the Mets will win the ballgame, the Mets win!!!

by DoctorK16 on Jul 30, 2007 3:45 PM EDT 0 recs

hopefully

We still see more Gotay than Castillo.

Talkin' Sports

by BlackOps on Jul 30, 2007 4:08 PM EDT 0 recs

Don't bet on it.

Seriously, why make the trade and then not play the guy? And I believe he's a switch-hitter, so I don't even see a platoon as necessary. Though maybe I should check his L/R splits first...

by madisonmetsfan on Jul 30, 2007 5:22 PM EDT up 0 recs

Draft picks

I don't know much about Martin, but his numbers suggest that he isn't anything special. I've never been a huge fan of Butera either. So in short, as long as Castillo is at least a Type B free agent, the draft picks that the Mets receive could make this a decent trade for the Mets.

by ams258 on Jul 30, 2007 4:17 PM EDT 0 recs

Type B

It'd actually be just one pick, now. After the CBA was renegotiated last year the compensation for a Type B went from a first round pick to a sandwich pick. Type C free agents went from a sandwich pick to bupkis.

by Eric Simon on Jul 30, 2007 4:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

Meh

Well, it's still not a bad trade if the Mets use their pick wisely. A team can get a pretty good player with a sandwich pick.

by ams258 on Jul 30, 2007 4:42 PM EDT 0 recs

ESPN link

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2954901

by ams258 on Jul 30, 2007 5:28 PM EDT 0 recs

for that garbage? yeah sure, get castillo

besides the possible compensatory pick castillo also means we never have to see david f'ing newhan bat anymore, which is fine by me.

im sure this wont happen for a million reasons but i think omar should try and pry dunn away from the reds. nothing can suck worse than shawn green in the outfield and now that delgado has stalled we need someone to consitantly knock in the ding dongs. and since this is my fantasy i will trade mulvey and carp for him. now we have this line up:

reyes
milledge
beltran
wright
dunn
delgado
castro
gotay/castillo

that is what i am talking about baby.

by kendynamo on Jul 30, 2007 5:59 PM EDT 0 recs

We're not getting Dunn

But a healthy Moises Alou will be a nice upgrade over many of the guys who have been playing left this year. Now we just have to hope Alou actually stays healthy...

by ams258 on Jul 30, 2007 6:01 PM EDT up 0 recs

Dunn

I love walks and prodigious power, so of course I'm a Dunn fan, copious strikeouts notwithstanding. I don't see it in the cards, but it's fun to dream.

by Eric Simon on Jul 30, 2007 6:03 PM EDT up 0 recs

On the other hand...

...last time I checked, his walks were way down this year. An anomaly? Plus, his RBIs always seem lower than one would expect. Maybe he has Kevin McReynolds Syndrome, a malady wherein a hitter clubs 30+ HR, but it seems like a majority of them are solo shots when his team is already ahead or behind by 5 runs or more.

Anyway, by all accounts the Reds are asking too much in return for him, like they seem to do every year.

by madisonmetsfan on Jul 30, 2007 7:08 PM EDT up 0 recs

This is stupid

The Durham deal isn't at all comparable. Durham still had some pop in his bat and could draw walks. Had a .390 OBP and .446 SLG before that trade. Castillo has .356 OBP and .352 SLG. I'd rather have Gotay in my lineup.

by Josh on Jul 30, 2007 6:31 PM EDT 0 recs

Castillo Trade

The Mets dealt tow organizational fillers for a 2nd round pick next year. not bad when you think about it, right?

Here's my entire analysis: http://cyclonesnation.wordpress.com/2007/07/31/metsa-acquire-luis-castillo/

by Matt Himelfarb on Jul 30, 2007 8:25 PM EDT 0 recs

odd deal

Castillo isn't the player he once was, but at least the Mets didn't give anything up to get him.

Minaya might have made this deal simply to get the draft pick.

Free Ramon Castro!

by Greenpoint Ian on Jul 30, 2007 8:26 PM EDT 0 recs

I like it

Take a look at the trash we gave up. Butera is a C who's best attribute was his walks at A+ (cause he couldn't do anything else)...but then he went to AA and walked twice in 115ish PA's...at age 24. Late bloomer exceptions aside, he will most likely never reach the upper levels.

Martin is a little better, but he's a 23 year old in the Florida State League with a .779 OPS. Doesn't do much, and is almost definitely a filler player.

In the end, this deal comes down to Terry Ryan deciding 2 crap minor leaguers were better than a sandwich pick and 2 months of Castillo's salary. Minaya decided we can pay the money in exchange for filler, 2 months of Castillo (Gotay has like a .400 BABIP), and then we get the pick. Not bad in my mind.

When asked why I was a Mets fan, I responded, "pain is my lifeblood."

by wrightHOF on Jul 30, 2007 9:05 PM EDT 0 recs

I agree

I already liked the trade because the Mets will get a better player than Butera or Martin with their compensatory draft pick, but I didn't realize Gotay's BABIP was so high - that makes me like the trade even more. Castillo is nothing special, but he'll provide better defense than Gotay and will get on base. Add those elements together, and you've got a good trade for the Mets.

by ams258 on Jul 30, 2007 9:28 PM EDT up 0 recs

woah

I thought I was exaggerating about Gotay's BABIP a bit, but I checked, and I actually underestimated. It's .411. Adjust that to league average, and you have nowhere near the .350/.386/.504, more like a .250/.286/.404, which all of sudden makes Castillo look a lot nicer. He's only 24, too, which means that he'll be around.

When asked why I was a Mets fan, I responded, "pain is my lifeblood."

by wrightHOF on Jul 31, 2007 12:59 AM EDT up 0 recs

Gotay

I meant, is only 24. Plenty of time to see if he can do something without being lucky at some other time.

When asked why I was a Mets fan, I responded, "pain is my lifeblood."

by wrightHOF on Jul 31, 2007 1:00 AM EDT up 0 recs

me, too

this reminds me of when valentin came. his best days were behind him and there were many questions re his legs. he ended up being a very valuable player last year, as will castillo this year. not a superstar, mind you, but a solid major league 2nd baseman. that's more than one can claim re gotay right now.

by metsexile on Jul 30, 2007 10:09 PM EDT 0 recs