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According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers, the MLBPA and Scott Boras agreed to reduce the $15 million due to Andruw Jones next season to $5 million, with the difference being paid out over the next six years.
Hmmm, I wonder if the Mets could do this with Luis Castillo?
Buster Olney of ESPN.com believes the Dodgers will contact the Mets, Braves and Reds. However, “A source with knowledge of the trade talks said even with Jones’ salary reduced for 2009, the Mets are virtually certain to pass on a deal for the outfielder.”
I feel people may have misunderstood last week’s rumors connecting the Mets and Jones. To me, it wasn’t so much that Omar Minaya was interested in Jones, it’s that he was angling to swap Jones’s terrible contract for Castillo’s. However, the Dodgers have no interest in Castillo, according to published reports, and so that’s that. In other words, no Castillo, no Jones.
By the way, according to Impacto Deportivo, Jones has left, or was asked to leave, the Dominican Winter League.
His team’s broadcasters are quoted in the article as saying Jones even looks bad on defense.
In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, David O’Brien suggests that the Braves look to re-acquire Jones on a minor-league deal, since he has said he would like to return to Atlanta.
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Not even with a 15 and a half foot pole…
sign manny, and then castillo can easily be absorbed into the lineup….and if slappy does better than expected, that would be icing on the cake.
Eh, no big deal here. I don’t think Castillo gets moved until spring training. Maybe he can prove he is healthy. He’s an 8 (hopefully 9 hitter as that is where he could be used effectively) We need an upgrade on offense somewhere and if it’s not him then it has to be LF or Catcher.
agreed about Luis, and the need for 1 more bat. Even if it is just the RH 1/2 of a LF platoon.
the Castillo situation will be resolved in ST, when they find out what kind of shape he is in, and how he seems to be playing.
Entirely possible he comes in on wobbly knees again, and may not even make it out of the gate!
Or he comes in finally healthy and ready to go back to 2007 #’s.
So I guess this means that there is no real solution for second base other than signing Alex Cora.
Grudzilanek and Hudson and even Eckstein (just threw up in my mouth) will be long gone by spring training. So we better hope Castillo comes in with two good knees. I suspect he will but will hobble back to the dug out some time in April or June.
That signing is the gift that keeps on giving.
god, i really hope the mets end up getting rid of castillo someway some how.. i really want him off the team!!
I agree with you Alex…the sight of Castillo in a Mets jersey disgusts me…However, if he was serious about getting in better shape and such, lets see what he can do…
Ravi, he was healthy in ‘07 and still slap the ball around.. once pitchers figure him out they knew he couldn’t hit worth a lick, now the blow fastballs at him like no tomorrow.. offspeed pitches are usually when he can slap the ball around.. no get rid of him..
Slapping the ball around is not a horrible thing. If he can still hit .300 and an OBP of .375+ then he can have a spot. That’s what he was in 2007.
trs, but that was before NL pitching figure out that’s all he was.. a slap the ball around type of guy.. jose reyes had absolutely NO protection with this guy hitting behind him.. i’d be shocked if he ever hits 300 again.. he looks like he’s 50.. is painfull to watch
Why would the NL need to figure out Castillo? He has spent most of his career in the NL. He was always a slap hitter.
Move him to 9th and then you don’t have to worry about it. I would not put him 2nd right now either.
so your saying the he was a slap around guy in 04 with florida?
i beg to differ
His last year with the Marlins was 2005 and he had .301 BA, .391 OBP, .374 SLG. For us in 2007 he had .296, .371, .376.
Not a big difference at all. In fact his SLG percentage until last season has stayed about the same his entire career.
In 2005 he had 20 Extra base hits. In 2007 he had 25.
What are you talking about, he came up with the Marlins and was a stud playing alongside J.Pierre. NL pitchers knew exactly what he’s about – your argument is BS
that seem soooooo long ago doesn’t it? he was younger, good knees, and playing wit no pressure at all.. and he was a stud true.. but like i said zer09, a lonnngggg time ago..
Alex, I know it’s tough for kids to pay attention these days but come on. :)
His numbers in 2005 and 2007 were almost identical. In fact as stated he had more Extrabase hits in 2007 than 2005.
Alex, they can show their ignorance all they want. Far be it for me to stop them. It’s just I am saying to listen to them would be even more ignorant.
If he is out of shape and hitting .200 in May then boo away.
lol ,good one wit the kids, i say 17 to rile zer09 up a bit, but with that being said luis castillo only play like 50 games and had 200 at bats.. he only had 10 xb’s hits for us, and also he hit 295.. which is not bad, but i think he’s done.. and i’m sure that 90% of the fans will boo away before may..
Yes, the Luis contract was a terrible mistake on Omar’s part. But that said, I hope the CitiField faithful will at least give Luis a decent chance to redeem himself before the boobirds come out.
Look at Jose Valentin in 2006 – the guy stunk in the early part of the year but really turned it on as the season progressed. Luis has the skills to be a decent player.
xavier,
no.. he’s gotta be the most hated met now that blownweis and heilmann are gone.. get rid of him someway some how..
What so they can move on to someone else? I would like to get rid of Castillo too in the right move. But to get rid of him because fans don’t like him? Come on. The fans are always going to hate one player, might as well be him instead of another regular.
after him, it might be delgado again.. he only got 1 more year left so.. either way i’m fine.. get them both out of here.. never liked delgado anyways
alex, it seems like you’re building a team on your xbox. if i had to guess your age, i’d say 16. Am I far off?
Zer09:
I’m 17..
Alex,
Is it his fault that Omar offered him a 4 year contract?
If Luis can be traded for “another headache” that fills a hole, great. If not, I hope Mets fans will at least give him the month of April to get his act together.
maybe 10% will.. the rest might disagree.. i won’t be surprised if he gets boo on opening day if he’s announced as the starting 2b..
I really don’t care if they do or not. Fans that boo on opening day are ignorant anyway. And doing anything to appease the ignorant portion of your fan base is well… ignorant.
i agree wit u trs, but as a free country everyone is entitle to do what ever they want, and if they feel like the need to boo a guy who underperform so be it.. i personally don’t boo.. but i clearly am not a fan of this guy..
Andruw Jones… What the hell happened to that guy?
Was he named in the Mitchell Report? Has he been lying about his age all these years?
Just weird.
He lost his mojo.
I think a lot of his struggles are related to his knee, which has been given him trouble for years. He had surgery, and still couldn’t get right.
It’s called Twinkieism. It effects those who are young work out a lot and eat a lot to build muscle. As you get older your metabolism slows down and you keep eating the same amount and exercise.
Mmmmmmmmm!!!!! Twinkies!
lol I agree … sure seems like he might have been on something … who knows.
I will tell you one thing, he was totally out of shape last year and even in 07 with the Braves he seemed to be out of shape and seemed to have slowed down a great deal. Isn’t he only like 30 0r 31? Kind of strange how he just feel off like that.
Very possibly both—Andruw is probably 35 and has probably been using since he was 17. He slid tremendously in 2007, and was approaching Argenis Reyes levels last year.
“and was approaching Argenis Reyes levels last year”
LMAO!!!! good point
That might actually be an insult to Argenis. Based on Jones stats last year it looks like he slide right past Argenis.
If the dude started caring and lost some weight he’d be decent.
funny, he hit like 50 homers 4 years ago or so.. sounds like the steroid syndrome to me.. but the thing is his defense just disappear like magic as well.. he was being consider as THE best CF of ALL times.. weird huh?
He also ran into a lot of walls and drove for balls as part of that great defense which may have started taking a toll on his body. I remember he threw his back out on a swing and a miss at least once against the Mets. Once your back starts going it can be tough.
agree, but boy he would catch anything out there, his defense dropped as much as his offense.. if your that good on defense like that u lose a step or two, he doesn’t even had any..
Give Luis a chance?
A chance to retire on his own!!!
LOL—Case, is that all you are saying?
All I’m saying is give Luis a chance :)
Lookslike the Mets are going to have to since no one wants him. My guess is if he does not revert to anything close to his old form that the Mets will probably be looking to Bobby Bo him and his contract.
enough with the talk about OF schlubs. sign manny!!!!
Nostra, happy new year man!!
i see u still got ur mancrush on manny huh?
it’s no mancrush bro. its just that i am CERTAIN that manny going to the mets may be THE critical piece for entering the promised land. pitching is important as well. but the current lineup plus 1 LF schlub aint gonna get it done. i will be proven right either way. hear me now, believe me in october.
enough with the manny talks.. jeezeeee.. its not gunna happen as long as the wilpons have a “creative control” factor… omar doesnt control what the team does.. the wilpons have final say and they dnt like manny unfortunately :[
joey, i hear ya.. but for certain, u never know.. they might be waiting to see the market on him and decide whether to sign him or not.. ala tex to the yankees.. who saw that coming that quickly
the only way i honestly be reluctant to see castillo back is if we sign manny.. our lineup would be soo deep that luis castillo might be the last out of the first inning and i wouldn’t mind.. i’d be expecting that
true…a manny lineup could easily absorb slappy castillo
not only that, but it can make it easy on us to find a way cheaper alternative for #5 starter.. i’m sure our offense will be good enuff to carry us for most part.
While I like Manny, the offense absorbed Castillo quite well last year and that’s about as bad of a year you can see from 2B total. If you get an upgrade in LF the offense will be better than last year.
TRS, but the thing is that now u have to pray delgado have the same year for the 3 months he had.. church we don’t know, we don’t get nothing out of C and 2B so that leaves reyes, wright and beltran to carry the load.. that’s too much to ask from those guys (although i think they can)
I agree but there is no real offensive upgrade out there. Yes Hudson is a better hitter but it would show very little in the results column. He is a .285, .350 hitter with a little power. It’s not like he is going to give anybody more protection.
The upgrade has to come from LF pushing Tatis and Murphy to the bench or from Schnieder.
I don’t think that asking your best 3 hitters to carry the team is too much. That’s what they should be doing…
so i’m sure your gonna say dunn, manny or somebody else for LF.. but then again, we don’t know how is gonna turn out.. hopefully at the end our team is a championship caliber team..
No I am just saying that going from .285, .365 to .295, .365 with 10 HR instead of 3 is not going to really make a big time impact considering the cost. It may not even win you another game.
I would like to see an NFL style cap system and the ability to cut players who underperform. Of course the better players will get some outlandish signing bonuses, but if a guy like castillo goes south, he can be released.
Only small market teams want a salary cap. W/ a cap we wouldn’t be able to have Beltran and Santana while extending Reyes and Wright in the near future.
I think it would make the sport stronger if more teams were involved in playoff considerations
They already are. Teams like the Marlins, Rays, and lots of under 100 million teams are always in the mix.
Castillo is a “Catch-22″ situation. If he’s not able to run without a limp (as in ‘07-’08), he’s worth ZERO either to the Mets or in trade.
If he’s healthy and running well, there’s no reason to trade him. He’s always been an excellent #1-2 hitter, even in ‘07 before his surgery.
He’s supposedly in an intense rehab program, under supervision by the Mets trainer (or conditioning coach), but for some reason there’ve been no updates. I wonder why.
I would gladly take 2007 Castillo. .300, .375, 20+ SB and very few K’s.
I’d feel much better if he were under the supervision of some other team’s medical and training staff!
I have to think that most organizations have a guy like Argenis Reyes who is all glove and no hit and plays 2B. And at $400K per year, it’s a sacrifice that more than a few teams are willing to make. Why would anyone want Castillo when he can’t cover his position and a Leftfielder has to charge in on a long fly ball off his bat? He’s just not that good. It was a good signing if it netted us Santana, but he’s not a good MLB player anymore. If he were a free agent today, he’d probably get a spring training invite as a non-roster player.
Because of last year’s injury yes. But if he was even the 2007 Castillo he would be the 2nd best 2B available and would still get at least 3/12.
Now we have Shawn Bowman who is a good field no hit minor league former prospect.
I think the Mets should do the opposite of what the Dodgers did with Jones with Castillo. Therefore the Mets should pack all the rest of the money left on Castillo’s contract into next year’s salary and pay him $18MM in 2009 and then be done with him.
And then do what? Sign Grudzy on a 1 year deal and figure it out next year again? Sign Hudson to an even more terrible contract?
The best we can hope for is to sign a guy like Grudzy now and hope that Castillo is healthy enough for us to use or at least not have to pay the entire contract.
We will not just release him this year.
It would make no sense to do that. Why pay him all the money now if it’s the same sum? If he’s not useful in 2009 or beyond, he can just be released – and he’ll receive the same money anyway…
of course not!
But it will take a year to groom Murphy to play 2B. Or we could sign Manny and trade Murphy or Church for a good young 2B like Adrian Cardenas who could use another year in AAA which at that time Castillo would become a free agent and Cardenas could step right in.
Bonds?
Except Castillo is not a free agent after this season…
Castillo will be fine this year, Mets made a mistake not getting Aaron Miles, he would have been good to spell Castillo for about 40 games.
The Mets would be best served if they treated him like any aging slugger. Not many day games after night games, etc.
Agreed, let Murphy and Evans get those days at 1B and 2B.
Aging what?????
just the concept. He isn’t a slugger of course, but you rest him like he is one (at least that’s my interpretation of the comment!)
unethical! plus manny’s better
Would someone ask the Braves to please get Jones and start him in CF?
Oh the thumpings we could give the Braves with him in CF.
=)
ahh.. didn’t they have a bunch of rookies and plug in guys last year? and we… didn’t even come close to them..
Guys I don’t buy the Castillo’s legs are shot so he can’t hit arguement. He had 2 bad legs that needed surgery and he still hit his career norms in 2007. I just don’t think he did a good job rehabing last offseason and was never playing enough to get a rythmn. It was not he could not run. IF he could not run then how in the world did he steal 17 out of 19 bases in only 298 AB’s and 87 games? If he had played the entire season he may have had 40.
well, he adjust better as a runner as the years went on.. since 2005 he’s had 92 SB and only 30 CS.. smart runner i’d give him that..
In fact with the Mets he is 27/31. That’s an incredible rate.
as a fan of the mets i wouldn’t want nobody to do bad on the team, and if the player is having a bad year i’d be the first one to get on him..
but if he rebounds i’d be the first one to say:
he shut me the f*** up!! and honestly, if we gonna keep this guy, i want him to not only shut me up, but 90% of us the fan based that want him gone!!
I would think 99% of the fan base wants him gone, UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES. I see no need however, to buy him out costing 18 million and then spend another 40 million on Hudson. If we could say, trade Castillo to the O’s eating half of his contract in a package for Roberts? Then we would be talking.
well, so would i.. but is pretty clear that 31 teams have said no thanks to luis already.. w/o some of them not even being asked..
Not to mention the fact that he did not get on base as much as normal last year. So to come up with 17 SB with limited times on base means he had to run about every time he got on base. LOL.
Lmao, good one..
Jones is more done than Castillo
I agree. We’d be out from under the contract quicker, but he’s completely toast.
Castillo’s problem is the years, not the $/year. Restructuring to pay 3mill over 6 vs. 6mill over 3 isn’t going to suddenly open up a market for him!
Better off just eating the money and dumping him if he can’t perform anymore (O or D)
Jones sounds like a mess. I guess if he gets released he will certainly pa-ss wiavers (meaning the Dodgers are on the hook for the big money) so any team would sign him for the minimum.
And I bet a few would be happy to chase after him for a MiL deal, but the Braves would win that. And just might get lucky.
Man, if anyone ever needed a personal trainer and an attitude adjustment, it is him.
We may not like Luis Castillo and not want him to be the Met 2bman this year, but in no way shape or form has he underperformed or has been as overpaid as Andruw Jones. $18 mil for batting .158 with 3 homers? That can’t even be compared to Castillo, Matt
I just got back from the Dominican Republic yesterday and saw him play on Friday.
He went like 0 for 6 and his batting below 100… “Down on the Interstate” as Keith likes to say.
He wasn’t very impressive in the outfield either, keep this guy away from Flushing.
for real man!! i was there too for christmas!! victor diaz was killing out there, and that bum of anderson hernandez is hitting like 430 right now… GOD!!
AH is a Winter League Star, period
still, that bum couldn’t hit half of that while he was with us..
He has ripped up the winter leagues for like the past 5 seasons now, so yes, he did do that with us. He’s a winter league all-star, but c’mon, Jose Lima is still an ace in one of those leagues.
LIMA TIME!!!!!
Why are we bringing in 2007 stats for Castillo? maybe he got on base, but dude had no pop.
He never did. The point is that he easily could go back to those numbers. Everyone wants to talk about how he was decent back in 2004-2005 but his legs slowed him down. He had bascially the same numbers in 2007 as he did then.
Last year it was clear he was injured and never got into a rythmn at all. We will see what happens this year. I am expecting .285, .365 OBP at least. Those are good enough numbers from the 8-9 spot and not worth releasing him and eating 18 million then turning around and signing Hudson for 40 million.
He has NEVER had pop, so i’m not sure judging him on how much power he has will do you any good. We’re not looking for pop from Castillo, we’re looking for average, on base ability, work pitchers/take pitches, and play solid D. Now, you can judge him on that all you want, but I don’t get bringing up that he has no pop, we’re not expecting him to.
I think it is a given that Castillo will be here. And I am not convinced he’s finished. If he comes close to his career numbers and plays adequate defense, he’ll be okay in the two spot with his patience and bunting ability.
However, I’m more concerned about his backup. Obviously, we’ll need reliable insurance. And Alex Cora is not it. He’s a worse hitter than Castillo and if his fielding statistics mean anything (RF, ZR, etc.) he’s an average fielder at best.
I’d rather have kept Damion Easley, who could at least hit the occasional home run, was a decent bat off the bench and had more positional versatility.
Cora would be relatively useless.
The problem with Easley is that most likely when Castillo was injured Easley would be too and then you end up with a guy like Awful Reyes.
This is true.
Are there any other middle infield free agents available (who would be willing to be a part-timer).
I’ve seen the name Grudzielanek thrown around but I doubt he’s interested in a part-time role and he wouldn’t be very useful on the bench because he can’t play another position.
free agent secondbasemen dont offer much to like…
Chris Burke and Ray Durham who are both more like utility guys and rather suspect at 2B defensively…
some shortstops who could be reasonable bench players.
Alex Cintron and Jerry Hairston Jr. seem to be the best available options along with Cora.
Angel Berroa and Luis Rivas are A. Reyes types, imo. Nomar is also on the list, but they should get someone who can play SS too…
Cintron or Hairston Jr would be good options. Cora would be fine, but is a little lesser player.
True, he doesn’t have pop and never has, but I do expect the guy to be able to hit a sac fly every now and then, and he can’t hit the ball out of the infield to save his life. That’s a problem.
well in terms of swapping Jones for Castillo the restructuring makes him less appealing to the Mets. The idea was to trade three bad years of Castillo for one terrible year of Jones. Now to have to pay Jones over six years just makes it more unbearable than Castillo over three years.
Just cutting Castillo would make more fiscal sense than taking on that Jones mess.