Luis Castillo
From The Met Wiki
| Age: 33 (born September 12, 1975) |
| Position: Second Base |
| Bats: Switch Throws: Right |
| Number: 1 |
| Acquired: For Drew Butera and Dustin Martin on July 30, 2007 |
| Contract: 4 year, $24 million, 2008-2011 |
Luis Castillo has been the Mets biggest positive surprise of 2009. Like Carlos Delgado in June 2008, Castillo convinced even the most conservative Met fans that it was time for the Mets to cut their losses and find a replacement. Had the Mets found anybody to take Castillo in the offseason they would have gladly eaten most of the $18 million remaining on Castillo's contract. However there were no takers, as the consensus on Castillo was that he lost a few steps and no longer had any value offensively or defensively. There was also concern that his attitude was bringing down the team.
But Castillo arrived at Port St Lucie 17 pounds lighter and 3 weeks into 2009 had himself second in the league in hitting, behind teammate Carlos Beltran. Castillo is once again having good, long at bats, and getting on base. His defense has also returned -- not to the Gold Glove excellence of his prime -- but to a reasonable level.
Even in Castillo's poor 2008 effort, in 359 plate appearances he drew 50 walks while striking out just 35 times. He also stole 17 bases and was caught just twice. But these weren't enough to compensate for his .245 average, lack of power, and reduced defense and speed. Castillo missed significant time due to injuries, and when he was healthy enough to play, Jerry Manuel was in no rush to get him into the lineup. It's not clear whether or not the Mets would have put him on the 2008 postseason roster, a decision the Mets were spared because of their late season collapse.
Castillo arrived from the Minnesota Twins on July 30th of 2007. After that season he resigned for $24 million for 4 years, and promptly had surgery on both knees, and didn't quite recover. He missed much of 2008 with leg injuries, and was mediocre when he played.
Castillo started his career with the Marlins, with whom he was a 3-time All Star and won 3 Gold Gloves and a World Series title. In the 2005 NLCS he hit the famous foul fly that future Met teammate Moises Alou couldn't catch because a Cub fan got to it first, triggering one of the Cubs' classic collapses.
