A Little Luis Now, A Lot of Luis Later

By Jack Flynn
Posted Friday, September 12, 2008

Damion Easley started at second base for the Mets on Wednesday night, the fourth straight game that manager Jerry Manuel has put him the starting lineup. In the heat of a pennant race, it is a startling indictment of Manuel’s faith in Luis Castillo, who has been nailed firmly to the bench for nearly a week.

Since coming off the disabled list on August 25, Castillo hasn’t had much of an opportunity to make his presence felt. Presumably healthy for the first time all season, you would think the Mets would be curious to see if Castillo would once again resemble the player that compelled general manager Omar Minaya to lavish a 4-year, $25 million contract upon him at the end of last season.

Instead, Castillo hasn’t even stepped on the field since last Friday’s miserable performance against the Philadelphia Phillies – 0 for 3 with three strikeouts, and he was caught looking each time. Castillo hasn’t pinch ran, despite 15 stolen bases in limited duty this season. He hasn’t played an inning as a defensive replacement, even though he’s generally considered a competent fielder.

Mets fans aren’t complaining. Castillo has struggled through the worst season of his 12-year career and has rewarded Minaya’s largesse with an anemic .320 SLG and an 83 OPS+. Perhaps the only thing Castillo has done well offensively is pile up walks (42 in 321 plate appearances), and even that has come at the expense of any hint of aggressiveness at the plate.

On a more intangible level, Castillo currently rivals only Aaron Heilman in unpopularity among the fan base. At one time this season Carlos Delgado looked like the biggest mistake of the Minaya era – Castillo has clearly surpassed his Dominican countryman in that capacity. The calls to trade or release him began before the end of April and have only increased in volume as the season has worn on.

Of course, that’s not going to happen. In fact, the way things are going right now, Castillo is nearly a lock to be standing at second base on Opening Day 2009. It’s an interesting pickle the Mets find themselves in these days. They can’t afford to play Castillo with a pennant on the line – but the less they put him on the field now, the more likely it becomes that they will be stuck with him next season.

If the Mets hold on to win the National League East, it will largely be with a rotation of Easley and unheralded rookie Argenis Reyes at second base. Combined they will make a little over $1 million this season, while Castillo is pulling down nearly six times as much in the first year of a four-year guaranteed deal.

Manuel deserves a lot of credit for ignoring the pay stubs and playing the players who he thinks will help his team win. Castillo belongs on the bench and Manuel has put him there, resisting the urge to believe that he is just about to start living up to the numbers on the back of his baseball card.

The manager has a responsibility to act in the short-term interests of his team, but Minaya has to have a broader vision. Castillo’s contract has proven to be a disastrous signing so far, although incredibly it is only the third or fourth-worst free agent contract that Minaya has handed out in the last two years.

The general manager deserves special credit for guaranteeing $14 million to two players (Moises Alou and Orlando Hernandez) who have contributed virtually nothing to the Mets this season. Throw in the inexplicable two-year deal given to Marlon Anderson (.217/.259/.297 in 129 at-bats this season), and Minaya has guaranteed over two-thirds of the Florida Marlins’ payroll to three players who have spent most or all of the season on the disabled list.

That’s why Minaya will not simply release Castillo; doing so is asking him to publicly admit that he made a $25 million mistake on the heels of the terrible contracts he have to Alou, El Duque and Anderson. Otherwise, Minaya runs the risk of not only taking responsibility for yet another financial boondoggle, but he also runs the risk of watching Castillo return to career norms in another team’s uniform while the Mets absorb the cost.

No, the only way off the island for Castillo is by way of a trade. Is there another major league general manager willing to trade straight up for three years of Luis Castillo at a rate of $6 million dollars a year, coming off his struggles in 2008? Of course not. The Mets would have to eat some portion of that contract – which would be seen as another blemish on Minaya’s record – and it’s unlikely they could acquire any useful players even if they did take on some of the cost.

Finally, even if they somehow find a way to ship Castillo off to another major league outpost, that leaves the Mets with a hole at second base. Easley will be 39 soon and cannot be relied upon to stay healthy all season. Even if he played 120 games, there’s no reason to believe he could significantly outperform Castillo at the plate. Argenis Reyes has won raves for his defense so far, but simply cannot hit at the major league level.

Mets fans love Daniel Murphy now and can see him playing second base in the future, but that future doesn’t include next season. Murphy has played just 17 professional games at second base and is nowhere near ready to play the position in the majors. Despite the torrid pace he’s sticking to offensively, Murphy is a near lock to regress next season and would be better served playing regularly in Triple-A.

There’s always the possibility of a free-agent signing; Orlando Hudson might like very nice at Citi Field next season. But how can Minaya go back to the Wilpons and ask them to green-light another four-year deal for a second baseman, one year after the Castillo debacle?

You can’t trade him. You can’t release him. You can’t replace him. Luis Castillo may be out of the picture for the rest of the 2008 season, but at this rate you can bet he’ll be back on the scene next year.