Four Reasons Why I'm Not Big On The Luis Castillo Trade
Now this is in no way to combat or take issue with Joe D's piece. I liked Joe's article,I thought it was well written and he had good points. But here are 4 reasons for me why I thought the Luis Castillo deal was not very well thought out.
1. Ruben Gotay-Meet the bench. Luis Castillo will now take over the everyday role of the second base position. Meaning also, that 24 year old Ruben Gotay will be limited to pinch hitting duties. Also if the Mets want him to play on a more regular basis, he could be optioned to Triple A New Orleans, despite his .350 batting average 4 home runs and 19 RBI's.
2. Strange Choice For 2 Hole In Lineup. This entire year in Minnesota Castillo has hit lead off every time he's been in the lineup. He'll have to learn how to take pitches and let Jose Reyes get a read on pitchers. Also Castillo has been hitting fast in at-bats, 59 of his 106 hits have come in a 0-0 or 0-1 count.
3. Bench's Depth Is Lacking. With Castillo starting everyday on second base, that means that the Mets will have Gotay, Damion Easley, Marlon Anderson, and Jose Valentin when he comes off of the 15 day DL. Almost definitely will one of these players be either dealt tomorrow or released in the near future, despite their production off the Bench or in less prominent roles for the Mets (Anderson had a .321 batting average as a pinch hitter for the Mets in 2005, and Easley has four home runs this year batting eighth in the lineup).
4. Mets will likely keep Castillo for 2008. It was already rumored before the 2007 season that Luis Castillo would be a Met in 2008. One rumor: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/post/Castillo-to-join-Mets-in-08-?urn=mlb,26406 predicted that Castillo would be on the Mets in 08. And if Omar Minaya wouldn't trust Ruben Gotay this year, why would he trust him next year enough to deal an established major leaguer like Castillo? If the Mets keep Luis Castillo, they no longer get a first round pick when Castillo goes to another team.
There are my opinions on the trade. I'm not overreacting on this trade and saying that its this horrible thing that's happened...I just wish that so many other players wouldn't lose playing time as a result of it. Please leave comments if you agree or disagree with me, and thanks for reading.
Comments
I agree completely
Posted by: Tommy Marcus | July 30, 2007 10:43 PM
I think the trade was a pretty good one because we didn't give anybody up to get him. If you see a dollar on the ground you pick it up and put it in your pocket.
That's what the Mets did here.
We got a couple of good weeks from Gotay thats great but now he strengthens the bench. There was nothing in Gotay's history to indicate he was a .300 hitter.
Castillo however is a .300 hitter. Plus he wont airmail balls to Delgado like Gotay did.
Castillo is battle tested.
I don't see any fault in this. We improved the team and didn't have to give up a top prospect to do it.
Posted by: Charlie | July 30, 2007 10:51 PM
- Jose Valentin is most likely done for the season, Milo.
- Damion can play the OF too, by the way.
- Gotay will get the starting gig next year, he just needs to work on his defense.
- Mets don't need Castillo in 2008, and will most likely not re-sign him because he is a class A player, meaning whoever signs him next year will give up a first-round pick next year. *I believe*
-..and Castillo is a great 2-hole hitter due to the fact that he does not strike out. He's a veteran and he knows when to hit-and-run and when to take pitches for Jose.
I'm not saying your opinions are wrong, but I just like to put out my views on it too.
Posted by: Ryan | July 30, 2007 10:54 PM
I disagree, even though I see your points. I think one or two of them are flawed. If Castillo is a strange choice for the two hole than what was Valentin, Lo Duca, Gotay, Easley, etc.??
The point is this.
1. Does it improve our defense?
2. Does it improve our bench?
3. Does it improve our lineup?
If you can say yes to any of those questions, and you didn't pay anything to get the guy, then it's a good deal.
Good blog, but use a spell checker dude.
Posted by: Mack | July 30, 2007 10:55 PM
1) you're enamored w/gotay
2) you're an idiot
3) this was a good trade
4) everyone so far has said so
5) gotay won't marry you
Posted by: john brown | July 30, 2007 11:09 PM
1) Gotay is much better offensively than castillo, and has recently shown more discipline at the plate, so i didn't see the need to acquire luis
2) Good point sir
3) I like how you back up your opinions with fact
4) Well thats why i posted the article so that I could get other people's opinions on the deal. Regardless of how many others disagree with me its still my opinion
5) I'm not available anyway, I'm currently dating your mother
Posted by: Milo | July 30, 2007 11:31 PM
Gotay is a .276/.356/.424 career hitter in the minors, and, a .264/.313/.387 hitter in the majors.
Sure, Ruben's on a hot streak right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's turned a corner offensively. It's all about sample sizes, my man.
And Castillo is an infinitely better defender than Gotay. It's not even debatable. Any defensive metric will say so. And, taking him from the turf of the Metrodome to the infield grass of Shea will only help.
It was a good deal. And the draft picks we'll get for him will be even better.
Posted by: Ethan | July 30, 2007 11:37 PM
Great Trade for the Mets. He is a great number 2 hitter and excelled their when he hit behind Juan Pierre.
It gives Reyes protection and now you can leave LoDuca at 6 to give Wright, Delgado, and Alou Protection.
Think about it, Milledge and Green are 7 & 8, not bad.
Now the Mets have to deal with life without Beltran.
Posted by: AYM | July 30, 2007 11:38 PM
wow. a "your mom" joke. great. i was just being feisty sorry for the rude comment earlier. but seriously, "your mom"? c'mon, that was sooo 90s. :D
Posted by: john brown | July 30, 2007 11:44 PM
wow. a "your mom" joke. great. i was just being feisty sorry for the rude comment earlier. but seriously, "your mom"? c'mon, that was sooo 90s. :D
Posted by: john brown | July 30, 2007 11:44 PM
I'm not satisfied with any of it. Number one, I am a Met fan, but not a New Yorker. It goes back to the Coke Team days in the 80's-90's. I was only a kid, but then again 35 homeruns a years wasn't too bad. Nowadays, if you don't almost have that many by the allstar break, your juice isn't good enough. Castillo is not what we needed. I'm really liking Gotay for the role. What's up with Anderson Hernandez???????
Posted by: Dane | July 30, 2007 11:54 PM
I'm very easily amused so i still use "your mother" jokes from time to time. But I guess time will tell who was right about this trade. Again, just my opinion
Posted by: Milo | July 30, 2007 11:56 PM
Dane, please Anderson Hernandez couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. Good defender, horrible hitter. He's pretty much Rey Ordonez v.2.
..and Milo, see, that's why I respected your opinion, and not flamed you for it. See what happens when somebody does? LOL, but yeah. At least you guys made up.
I'm doing a Trade Deadline Blog tomorrow since my blog is in the afternoon. So, I'll be expressing my opinion there too.
Posted by: Ryan | July 31, 2007 1:06 AM
Hey Milo, I was pleasantly surprised by the timing of your post to follow mine. lol It definitely shows our readers that this site is really The Fair and Balanced Mets Network.
As for the mom joke, I was always a bigger fan of the "you're so low" jokes...
good stuff, lol
Posted by: Joe D | July 31, 2007 3:54 AM
We gave up nothing for Castillo. NOTHING!
He's an All Star batting .300.
I wonder what Card though when they got Weaver last year...
Posted by: Steve Henderson | July 31, 2007 8:04 AM
good stats in reason number 2...
Posted by: NYsportsGUY | July 31, 2007 12:45 PM
I like this trade a lot. Gotay has been great offensively SO FAR this year, however, it is a small sample. Plus i dont think there is any dispute about his less than reliable defense. Castillo is a veteran who will bring a lot to this team. Plus then you have Gotay coming off the bench. Overall i think it was a great trade, now i would just like to see them get some decent arms in the bullpen!
Posted by: Cass | July 31, 2007 1:22 PM
You make good points, good acquisition because they gave up nothing, but he's not a two hole hitter. A two hole hitter needs patience and as you pointed out, 57 of 106 hits coming that early in the count is a really bad sign. He also doesn't walk much, and a 2-hole hitter should have a little pop. He has zero. He should hit eigth. Also, on D, his range is overrated, he's in the bottom half on zone rating, which you can look up. Okay acquisition, but not one that puts them over the top in October.
Posted by: DG | August 1, 2007 3:15 PM
You sound like a idiot now dont you. No bench depth? We have the best bench in the NL. Yea Gotay meet the bench, so what, you had no idea who he was when he started 10 games why do you care now. Castillo is way more discipline at the plate. Sinch Castillo has came to the Mets, Reyes is stealing way more bases. You make no sense. Horrible post.
Posted by: Tyler | September 4, 2007 11:04 AM