Yesterday Omar Minaya made his move before the deadline and acquired Twins 2nd baseman Luis Castillo. For the 3 time All-Star he gave up Double-A catcher Drew Butera and Single-A outfielder Dustin Martin. There is only one way you can look at this trade......as an absolute steal for Minaya and the Mets. Minaya got Castillo for 2 prospects who are not even projected to make the major leagues. This fact is unbelievable in itself. I have heard some fan complaints about this trade because they wanted to stick with Ruben Gotay and the occasional platoon with Damien Easley. All I can say to this is that I have been pushing for Gotay to start pretty much out of spring training but I cannot deny the upgrade Luis Castillo brings to the Mets.
Castillo does not have the pop in his bat like Gotay's potential shows but he brings so much more. He is a 3 time gold glove winner and has the third best fielding percentage among second baseman in baseball this year. Castillo also adds another switch hitter into the lineup and a consistent .300 batting average to an already potent Mets' lineup. This trade also stabilizes the everyday lineup that Willie Randolph can put out there with Castillo hitting in the two spot where he hit during his best days with the Florida Marlins. Him hitting in the two spot will also help Reyes get better pitches and help Beltran because he should see more runners on base when he comes up to the plate. Castillo adds to the team's speed, defense and clutch hitting without subtracting anything away. This trade also makes the bench better by having Gotay and Easley being used as pinch hitters and replacements late in games.
Luis Castillo might not be the huge name that Mark Teixeira is but this is a great move by the New York Mets and really should help their defense and definitely offense. I do love Ruben Gotay like many other Mets fans but this move gives us a veteran with a World Series ring which is what we all want for the Mets. However, the one thing I will say is that Ruben Gotay should be the starting second baseman next year after he works on his right handed hitting and defense in the off-season, signing an aging Castillo to a contract extension would not be a smart move unless he plays out of his mind for the next two months. Ruben Gotay is 24 years old and I still view him as the future at 2nd base for the New York Mets. There are still close to 5 hours of the trade deadline left so now its time to play the rumors game for the rest of the day to see if Minaya will strike again with a trade deadline steal as he has done time and time again with Castillo this year and Oliver Perez last year.
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