The Mets finally went ahead and did what seemed inevitable yesterday, cutting ties with Luis Castillo. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports said late last night that he expects Castillo to sign with a new team shortly after clearing waivers on Sunday, when it would only require the league minimum to bring him aboard. Let’s look at some potential suitors, then vote on his next destination…
- Phillies: Chase Utley is out indefinitely with knee problems, and Castillo’s low cost would surely be attractive to a team pushing the limits on payroll.
- Marlins: They’re currently scheduled to begin the season with Omar Infante at second and top prospect Matt Dominguez at third. Castillo, who originally broke in with Florida, would allow them to slide Infante to third and take it slow with Dominguez, who has yet to play above Double-A.
- Dodgers: It’s possible that Casey Blake will miss the start of the regular season with back trouble, and Castillo could step in at second with Juan Uribe sliding over to third.
- Rockies: They’ve been connected to Michael Young basically all offseason, but Castillo would be a much more affordable second base option as well as less risky since there’s no long-term commitment. Rosenthal mentioned that Colorado was not in the mix, however.
- Orioles: Brian Roberts is dealing with back issues, and although he’s getting closer to game action, Castillo would provide insurance at second and in the leadoff spot.
- Cubs: The second base job is still up for grabs on Chicago’s north side according to Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago, so Castillo could push Blake DeWitt, Jeff Baker, Darwin Barney, and Augie Ojeda.
- Cardinals: Nick Punto is recovering from a hernia, leaving a little bit of an opening on the roster.
Castillo has never played a position other than second base in his Major League career (not even DH), so his ability to serve as a utility infielder is far from a given.
Phillies
Why is this even up for discussion? Luis Castillo isn’t an All-Star, Hall of Famer or a good player. This article is useless, like himself.
Three time all-star, former good player, and the article is useful. And it’s funny how Mets fans go crazy over this.
All former though. Why would any of these teams want a range-less second basemen who can’t hit the ball out of the infield anymore?
Very funny indeed. No one’s talking about adding him to be their #1-4 everyday starting hitter. Everyone is basically thinking of him as a useful bench player or backup.
I think it all comes down to that pivotal team-collapsing easy pop fly that he dropped vs. (of all teams) the Yankees that makes him the goat of the last few under-performing Mets teams. He’s symbolic to Mets fans of something larger than just a utility player. And, not that it’s the overriding factor, I think symbolism does count, especially for since the Mets regime wants to really turn the page to a new era now.
You are right, it’s gotta be something besides Luis himself. The pop fly mistake, the “Los Mets” thing, anything and everything besides how good or not good is Luis Castillo.
For 400k he’s a good option for a number of teams. The hate seems unjustified.
agreed, but i do not think he can be considered utility by any means. He can strictly play second base. worth signing for 400k as a stopgap — definitely but he simply has no versatility to be a useful bench player in the NL anyway.
So this site shouldnt discuss anyone who can help a team, just because they aren’t All-Stars or Future Hall-of-Famers? I’m a Mets fan and the hatred and disgust some of you have for Castillo is sad. I’m sure if another club dropped him and he was available at league minimum, some of you same fans would be saying “Take a look at him”.
Completely false. Like I’ve said, why would a team want any player with no range, can’t hit the ball out of the infield and only plays one position?
So you rather have a guy named Daniel Murphy who cant field 2B, but can hit the ball out of the infield with a .313 OBP in his 1st full season? Someone will sign him. just because you think he’s useless doesnt mean he cant be useful to another team.
Yes actually, I’d rather give a younger player the chance to learn rather the older player the chance to be boo’d and tormented throughout another season. If I’m not mistaken, Daniel Murphy was also hitting 3rd in his first full season on a completely injured major league team (which was pretty much a minor league team).
Younger players deserves a shot, but it should be someone who can actually field the position. Murphy is a decent hitter who can’t field 2B. Oh btw Castillo had an .OBP of .380+ that same year on that same team.
yeah..the Mets already have enough of those type players on the team now..I guess they need to release half the team.
That’s why people love New York fans so much. The guy drops one pop up in the all-important Subway Series and he never hears the end of it. Get over it. The guy provided the Mets with three seasons of above average on-base skills.
His glove declined as he moved into his 30s. You ought to be bitter at the organization that didn’t see that coming.
So he was bad last season. That’s what happens to 34-year-old baseball players. They stop being good.
It’s not Castillo’s fault the Mets ridiculously overpaid to keep him when he became a free agent. But, hey, they had to spend that Ponzi money somewhere.
Wha..What?! I’ll definitely give you 2009 as a above average season, but 2008 & 2010 were absolutely miserable. I hope you know, this is coming for the guy who is now giving the 13 million dollar Oliver Perez a chance to be in the bullpen.
His OBPs were .371 in 50 games in 2007, .355 in 08 and .387 in 09. All I said was he was still getting on-base at an above average rate those three seasons. His OPS was right in line with his career average in 07 and 09. And I said he was awful last season.
The Mets might not have gotten what they paid for, but they did get what they deserved — an aging middle infielder with a career OPS hovering just above .700.
Or it’s because the last 3 years he’s been worth a grand total of 2.8 WAR, or slightly under 1 WAR/year, which is bad considering how much playing time he’s actually been getting. Or to put it in average joe terms, he’s declined to the point where he’s a .230 batting average singles hitter, and plays bad defense to boot. Bad Hitting. Bad Fielding. Bottomline is he’s a bad baseball player, so forgive us if we find it a bit puzzling why so much interest is being paid to a bad baseball player.
I guess my point is that the hate directed at the player should really be directed at the front office that signed him. He was always a singles hitter, his speed was all but gone by the time he arrived in New York and his defense had already slipped to average-at-best levels back in 2007. I just really don’t know what the Mets and their fans were expecting. They were fortunate to get the 2.8 WAR to be honest — it could have been worse if he didn’t have a bounce back 2009.
Frankly I don’t find it puzzling why this site sees it fitting to pose the question whether some team will sign Castillo (notice all their projected landing spots are for stopgap solutions or backup roles — not exactly billing him as a franchise player or anything) or whether this is the end of the road for a three-time All-Star who in his day was a quality second baseman on a WS champion.
His career merits the attention, regardless of how Mets fans feel about him.
Wow, players get run out of town in places besides “Philadelphia”? Is ESPNY aware of this breaking news???
Someone!! Alert the papers!!! Stop the press-es!!!!
The Yomiuri Giants
Whichever team it is, it won’t be Marc’s Mothmen.
The Nippon Ham Fighters!
Ahem, the Hokkaido Nipponham Fighters! Though, they don’t really need a second baseman.
Phillies, Cubs, or Cardinals. Mark my words.
Your words are pretty veigue but have been marked none the less.
Phils are not gonna sign this guy…..Barfield & Valdez, Young or Orr will be fine for the short term.
michael martinez is a champ
Is Michael Martinez a champ? I didn’t quite get that.
I didn’t quite catch it either.
michael martinez is a champ
Barfield, Young, and Orr are the definition of “throwing sh*t at the wall, and seeing if it sticks”.
And I don’t quite get the Valdez love. Sure, his glove is solid, but ou do realize that Valdez could not beat out Castillo for playing time two years ago when the Mets had BOTH of them, right?
I am a Phillies fan, and I approve this message.
Harlem Globetrotters (At least he can surely be a winner in NY that way)
Barfield has sealed his fate the past few days with atrocious defense at 2B (two errors already today, too.) People are high on Martinez, the rule 5 guy, and siging Castillo likely means sendinging him back to Washington.
I don’t think Philly gets Castillo also, because I don’t think they’re gonna be ready to make a decision on IF or HOW they need to replace Utley before Castillo gets interest from someone else..
How about the Mariners?
Yeah, Mariners can have him, Just release Dustin Ackley first.
yea…uh keep him out of philadelphia….like please
Rays on a minor league deal? Probably wouldn’t happen but hey, it is Luis Castillo.
Luis Castillo > Blake DeWitt & Jeff Baker platoon
Luis Castillo > Wilson Valdez, Josh Barfield, Pete Orr, Mike Martinez, Juan Castro, Tomas Perez, Eric Bruntlett, and Desi Relaford…..even if ALL are on steroids.
I think the Phillies should take a flyer on him. He had a miserable time in New York and maybe a change of scenery could do him well… will that make him into an allstar? No… but I think he would add something to the bottom of our order either hitting in front of or behind chooch.
Also, a move to CBP hasn’t hurt any hitters to my knowledge.
Oh yeah cause like the Philly fans will be much better on him.
New York and Philadelphia are the worst fan bases/ media
Disagree. If anything, they’re the greatest. Can’t beat the east coast passion.
I honestly don’t think the Phillies fans would care enough to get on Castillo. Unless he boots a couple balls in the ninth of a close game, he’s just gonna be a fill-in bench guy for a few months. He doesn’t have the history in Philly that he does in NY. Here he’s just another guy.
How do the Rockies even get mentioned here? They’re loaded with guys competing at 2B already, and all of them are better options at this point than Castillo (with the possible exception of Eric Young, Jr.).
Please start a new poll, who will sign Ollie Perez?
You Mets fans make it seem like no team should sign any player who isn’t amazing or an “all-star.” Because oh yeah, being an “all-star” is a darn good reason to make a player “good” or sign him.
Is Castillo a bad player? Yes. Is he a really bad player? Probably. But do teams have needs for a backup infielder who costs very little or even a minor league deal? Absolutley. And to say that there’s no need for a post like this is stupid.
Not all Mets fans are in that boat. He wasn’t great but at least he could turn a double play, unlike Daniel Murphy, who most fans think is some stud
Yeah, if this was 2009.
Remember that time the Braves brought in Rick Ankiel, Billy Wagner, Takashi Saito, Troy Glaus, and Derek Lee? The following year they brought in Scott Linebrink and George Sherill.
Clearly the Braves don’t want to win.
I believe GQ released a survery/study that pretty much makes your point look way off. Because if vomitting on a little girl is a passionate thing a fan does, then I suppose your point should be taken into consideration.