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Luis Castillo

Potential Openings For Luis Castillo

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Throughout the season, Luis Castillo has made it clear that he isn't thrilled with his role on the Mets bench. Just yesterday, he told Mike Puma of the New York Post that he wants to play regularly in 2011, since he'll hit free agency after next year. At this point, Castillo thinks the Mets will be able to find a taker for him this offseason, but it seems unlikely that any team would choose to offer him a starting role. 

Castillo makes $6MM this year and he has struggled at the plate. He still makes contact on an unusually high percentage of the pitches he swings at and still has a good eye for the strike zone, but he has a .235/.338/.267 line. Any team interested in Castillo would also have to keep in mind that he has played all 14,373 of his major league innings at second base. Versatility is not one of the 35-year-old's calling cards. 

Second basemen David Eckstein, Orlando Hudson and Mark Ellis (club option) are eligible for free agency this offseason, so the Mets could call the Padres, Twins and, potentially, the A's to see if they have interest in Castillo. The Tigers, Royals and Cardinals have options at second, but not well-established ones, so the Mets could try to peddle Castillo to one of those teams, too.

But it doesn't seem likely that any GM will look at his options and decide that he wants to pursue Luis Castillo as his next everyday second baseman. The Mets may trade Castillo, but there are so many established second basemen that his chances of playing every day don't seem much better than Jeff Francoeur's were when he was hoping for a similar opportunity.

Mets Rumors: Castillo, Perez, Reyes, Backman

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The 63-63 Mets don't seem to be in contention, but GM Omar Minaya told John Harper of the New York Daily News that his team is "still in the hunt." Regardless of what Minaya says, some of his players are already looking ahead to 2011. Here are the details on two of the team's potential trade candidates, a star who wants to stay, and an insight into the Mets' managerial hunt:

Mark Polishuk also contributed to this post.

Castillo Unhappy With Mets

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Mets second baseman Luis Castillo is unhappy with his relegation to the bench in New York and believes that he will be elsewhere in 2011, writes Dan Martin of the New York Post.

"I can't be here anymore," the second baseman said prior to last night's game against the Phillies at Citi Field. "I know I'm not going to be here next year."

While GM Omar Minaya declined to comment on Castillo's desire to be moved, a team source said that he has not asked the club for a trade.  However, the Mets are aware of his desire to play every day.  The veteran was taken out of the starting lineup in favor of rookie infielder Ruben Tejada.

Castillo, 34, is set to earn $6MM in 2011, the final year of his contract.  The three-time All-Star has struggled this season, hitting .241/.335/.281 in just 62 games.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Salty, Braves, Cards

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Ken Rosenthal has a new Full Count video up, so let's dive in…

  • The Red Sox scouted Jarrod Saltalamacchia hard before acquiring him this afternoon, and they feel that he is throwing better and will benefit from a change of scenery.  18 months ago the cost for Salty was Clay Buchholz, so they feel he's worth the gamble considering the uncertain futures of Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek.
  • The Braves didn't need either Kyle Farnsworth or Rick Ankiel, but picking up both improves their depth considerably. Ankiel will be the regular center fielder against righties, platooning with Melky Cabrera, while Farnsworth will help lessen the burden on Takashi Saito and Jonny Venters. The Braves are clearly going for it in Bobby Cox's final season.
  • It seems odd that the Cardinals would trade Ryan Ludwick given their offensive inconsistency this year, but the team likes what Jon Jay has done and they'll save big when Ludwick goes to arbitration for the final time next season.
  • Relative to its competition, no team did as poorly as the Mets at the deadline. They were outbid for Ramon Ramirez, and the Cubs wanted no part of a Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez for Carlos Zambrano swap. The Cubbies are hopeful that Big Z will come back and rebuild his value down the stretch.

Zambrano Would Accept A Trade

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SATURDAY, 8:40am: The Cubs rejected an offer of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo for Zambrano, tweets SI's Jon Heyman.  Zambrano has $17.83MM more remaining on his contract than they do, so I'm assuming the Mets wanted cash in the deal.  Heyman says the Cubs did not want to take Castillo.

FRIDAY, 5:39pm: Carlos Zambrano told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times that he would accept a trade if the Cubs approach him with one (Twitter link). Despite Zambrano's willingness to waive his no-trade clause, there's no reason to expect a deal. Zambrano says he wants to stay in Chicago and the Cubs don't believe they will be able to trade him this season, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link).

Big Z earns $6.4MM between now and the end of the season, plus $17.9MM next year, $18MM in 2012 and possibly $19.25MM in 2013. That's a lot of money for a pitcher who just came off the restricted list and has a 5.66 ERA. The 29-year-old is walking (4.0 BB/9) and striking out (8.6 K/9) lots of batters, as usual.

Heyman On Lowell, Jeter, Castillo

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Jason Heyward and Mike Leake top Jon Heyman of SI.com's list of top rookies so far in 2010. It's hard to argue with those choices, though Stephen Strasburg may steal the show in a few weeks. Here are Heyman's rumors:

  • Mike Lowell upset the Red Sox brass when he told the media that he had no role on the team. Heyman says the Red Sox are not eager to release Lowell and eat his $12MM salary.
  • The Yankees say they will "definitely" re-sign Derek Jeter, who hits free agency after the season. It is almost impossible to imagine Jeter playing for another club.
  • Mets hitting coach Howard Johnson "appears to be in some jeopardy" of losing his job.
  • One person connected to the Rockies says they are "not even close" to having enough money to afford Luis Castillo, who makes $6MM this year and the same amount next year. The Rockies are interested in adding infield depth, but it appears that the Mets would have to take on a considerable portion of Castillo's salary for a deal to go down.

Castillo, Matsui Possible Options For Colorado?

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Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes that the Rockies are looking to upgrade from utilityman Melvin Mora as their best backup option at second base.  To that end, the Mets have contacted Colorado about a possible deal for Luis Castillo.  The veteran infielder has a .256/.341/.299 line heading into Thursday's action and has improved his defense (a 2.5 UZR/150) this season after his horrendous -12.7 UZR/150 in 2009.

As Rosenthal mentions, the Rockies wouldn't have to worry about the $12MM owed to Castillo for 2010 and 2011 given that the Mets would be picking up the large majority of that tab to clear the way for Daniel Murphy to get some reps at second base.

If the Rockies aren't interested in working out a deal with New York, another possible answer to their depth problem could be a former Rockie. MLB.com's Thomas Harding proposes that if Kazuo Matsui clears waivers on Monday and is officially released by Houston, Colorado might be a logical landing spot for the second baseman.  Matsui has just a .352 OPS in 78 plate appearances with the Astros this season, but Harding sees Matsui as a minor-league signing that would provide cover for regular second baseman Clint Barmes (who himself is struggling this season with just a .612 OPS heading into today's action).  

Matsui's greatest success in the majors came with the Rockies, where he hit .300/.353/.426 in 579 plate appearances from 2006-07.  Harding mentions that Matsui was popular in the clubhouse and apparently left no hard feelings with management when he left Colorado to sign a three-year, $16.5MM contract with Houston after the Rockies' pennant-winning 2007 campaign. 

Given that the Astros would still be paying the $5MM that Matsui is owed for 2010, this would be a low to no-risk signing for the Rockies to make.  The club would've liked to have been prospect Eric Young make a play for the second base job, but with Young looking at a lengthy stay on the DL with a leg injury, a veteran option like Matsui or Castillo could make sense.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Brewers, Mets, Paulino

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Some links for Tuesday evening…

Six Teams Considering Chien-Ming Wang

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THURSDAY, 7:45pm: Nero says that Wang is reconsidering his plan not to return from shoulder surgery until a couple months into the season, writes Jayson Stark of ESPN.  Nero says that "four or five teams" are pursuing Wang more aggressively than expected and therefore, his client could sign before Spring Training if he receives the right offer.

Stark mentions the Mets, Dodgers, and Cardinals as potential destinations for the 29-year-old hurler.

MONDAY, 5:32pm: Ken Rosenthal catches up with Chien-Ming Wang's agent, Alan Nero, who reports that a half-dozen teams are currently reviewing Wang's medical records.

Wang is training with an eye on throwing off a mound within a week or two, Nero added.

“We’re anticipating a major-league offer with a substantial guarantee and substantial upside,” Nero said.

The way that works out, timing-wise, Wang should be throwing off a mound right as the teams licking their wounds from losing out on Ben Sheets are ready to take notice.

The two are hardly similar pitchers, however. While Sheets gets more fly balls than ground balls and has a healthy strikeout rate, Wang is quite dependent on his infield defense.

So for those who miss out on Sheets, better check to see if Luis Castillo or Michael Young is playing for your team before going after Wang. If so, you might want to save your money.

Red Sox, Mets Discussed Castillo For Lowell

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TUESDAY, 12:52pm: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports finds Castillo "highly unlikely to be traded, for Lowell or anyone else."  Joel Sherman of the New York Post learned that the Mets and Red Sox have not discussed a Castillo-Lowell swap for weeks.

MONDAY, 9:52pm: WEEI.com's Rob Bradford writes that a Castillo-for-Lowell deal is "not close."  He feels that it's most likely Lowell will have to prove his health in Spring Training before a trade occurs.  Meanwhile, Yahoo's Tim Brown tweets that the Rangers "have not ruled out re-engaging on Lowell."

6:56pm: ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick tweets, "I just heard that Red Sox have talked to the Mets about a Mike Lowell-for-Luis Castillo trade. Not sure how serious it is." He adds that Lowell is expendable with Adrian Beltre in the fold. Also, with Castillo gone, the Mets could go after Orlando Hudson.

The deal certainly clears an unwanted player for both teams. But while it is easy to see Lowell getting some at-bats for the Mets at first, and even spelling David Wright at third base, where Castillo fits in- given his poor defense at second base, and the existence of Dustin Pedroia– with Boston is harder to understand.

The money would be even in such a deal. Lowell is owed $12MM in 2010, while Castillo is owed $6MM in each of the next two years.

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