Sherman’s Latest: Gonzalez, Guillen, Castillo, Martin

Let’s take a little break from Peavy-mania and look at some other situations around the big leagues, courtesy of Joel Sherman.

• Padres GM Kevin Towers can’t see any circumstances under which he’d trade first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.  He’s signed cheaply, and the Padres already have offensive problems.
• Sherman knows that it will be extremely difficult for the Mets to move Luis Castillo this offseason, but offers one scenario that has been discussed before: Trade Castillo to the Royals for perennial hothead Jose Guillen. Guillen would bring the Mets a power bat and arm to put in left field, while Castillo would bring the Royals some much-needed OBP and a replacement for free agent Mark Grudzielanek. The difference would be the Royals saving $6MM over Castillo’s remaining three seasons, with the Mets taking on $6MM more, but only having two years of a bad contract. Personally, I think this move could make a lot of sense for both teams, although I’d prefer to have Guillen over Castillo. Also, the Mets apparently have no interest in an Eric Byrnes/Castillo swap.
• The Phillies may be looking for a way to replace Pat Burrell cheaply in order to pursue a free agent starter. One proposed method would be to move Greg Dobbs to left field. Sherman notes that there wouldn’t be much difference in range between Burrell and Dobbs. Dobbs posted an .824 OPS this season in 226 ABs, but the alarming thing is that 217 of those ABs came against right-handed pitching. Dobbs was just 1 for 9 against lefties in 2008, and has just 52 career ABs against LHP, in which he’s posted a .579 OPS. A plattoon with Eric Brutnlett could work, but if I were a Philadelphia fan, I’d be hoping for an alternative solution. Sherman reminds us that the Phils were players for Manny Ramirez in July…
• This one surprised me, but Sherman throws a new name as a possibility on the trade market: Russell Martin. Sherman cites rival executives in saying that the Dodgers aren’t "enamored with his makeup" and that with frontline catchers being hot commodities, the Dodgers could explore the market to see what Martin could bring in return. Personally, I think moving Martin would be a mistake, but I have to admit, Martin would indeed fetch a very nice return.