Jerry Crasnick of ESPN reports that according to one of his sources, the Mets and Red Sox are considering a swap of Mike Lowell and Luis Castillo, but that it’s not known how far along the discussion has gone.
Mike Lowell is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $12 million next season, while Castillo is owed the same amount, but over two seasons, not one.
I like Lowell who batted .290 with a .811 OPS last season in 119 games. He also collected 29 doubles, 17 homeruns and 75 RBIs. He is a .300+ hitter with men on base, scoring position and scoring position with two outs.
On the down side is the fact he is right handed just like Jeff Francoeur, David Wright and the newly acquired Jason Bay. Additionally, he has been primarily a third baseman his entire career so there’s no telling how good or bad he would be defensively at first base.
Furthermore, the move would make Lowell the third highest paid hitter on the team and increase the teams payroll for 2010 by another $6 million dollars without necessarily filling a need.
Lowell, just had surgery on his thumb last week, and it is not yet known when he will be ready to swing a bat again.
It seems to me that we would be taking on a bigger risk than Castillo for double the price in 2010. If the Mets are so willing to throw $6 million away so easily, then why not just keep Castillo on the bench and sign Orlando Hudson for the same money?
That way we get two players for $12 million, fill a major need, and upgrade second base and the bench at the same time?
One thing that may push things along is the fact that the Red Sox have just agreed to a deal with third baseman Adrian Beltre this morning.
