Adam Rubin of the Daily News suggested that the Mets might be shopping Luis Castillio this offseason. If you recall, last year, in a slightly controversial extension, they signed Castillo to a four year deal, even though he was injury plagued and his offensive stats were on the decline. However, now with the success of Reyes (Argenis), Murphy, and Easely, the question is where to does Castillo fit?
It's not as simple as just having Murphy continue to platoon with Evans, because they are both hitting well. Earlier this year it looked like one of them could move back to first, but Delgado has turned it on, so he'll be staying next year. The club might also want to make room for Fmart in the outfield as well, and the team cannot carry a 3 person platoon of Evans/Fmart/Murphy and get them all enough playing time to develop their skills. Murphy will be playign 2B this fall, and the team might not need Castillo.
There are some disadvantages of losing Castillo though. One, he is a veteran player and helps the team as a leader. He knows how to hit in the 2 hole behind Reyes, but with time, we would need to teach someone elsoe that anyway, because Castillo is always injuried. What I am worried about is Santana. Santana and Castillo are good friends, and I hope that Santana still pitches very well after a potential Castillo trade. When Castillo got traded from the Twins to the Mets, Santana was terrible the rest of the year. Since the trade will more likely happen during the offseason, Santana's stats shouldn't fall, and there were other reason why he was upset last time (like trying to understand the Castillo for practically nothing trade when the Twins were still in the race), so this Santana thing isn't too much of a concern, I am just a nervous person.
The entire situation is a bit intriging, Orlando Hudson will also be on the market this year too, so if Castillo was traded, then the Mets might bring in Hudson, but then what about all of the other players. This will be a topic that will be discussed later after this season is over.
