Mets Acquire 2B Luis Castillo from Twins
The Mets acquired 2B Luis Castillo today from the Twins for Minor League catcher Drew Butera and Minor League outfielder Dustin Martin to Minnesota.
This is a great deal for the Mets, as the minor leaguers traded were not very good.
Luis Castillo is expected to hit number 2 in the lineup.
Who Needs to Go, Who’s Surprised Me
Pitcher Scott Schoeneweis- a 5.59 ERA just isn’t going to cut it when you’re playing for the
Mets.
Outfielder Lastings Milledge- Omar Minaya needs to trade this guy while he is still worth it. I have a feeling he is going to be the next Pacman Jones or Michael Vick or something. He’s known for troublemaking. At the same time, he’s great trade bait.
Pitcher Guillermo Mota - Ever since he shot himself with ‘roids last year and was caught, his ERA ballooned to 5.58. He has given up 33 hits in 30 innings.
Surprise:
Ruben Gotay - He is a lucky fix for 2nd base for the Mets. He has done great ever since Valentin went down, hitting .333 and has fine defensive skills.
Marlon Anderson - Not as much of a surprise, but a bright spot and an upgrade from Julio Franco-ld, who is ONLY 49, to a person who is 33. Obviously 33 is not very young, but anything’s better than 49. He has done great in every opportunity he has had.
Pedro Return Bumped to September
Well, Pedro is being forced by the Mets to wait longer and longer, which is not a bad thing. The Mets are purposely dragging out Pedro’s return to make sure he’s 100%. They really don’t want him coming back now and slowing down early or getting reinjured.
He is now expected to make another Simulated Start and then begin Rehab Starts in throughout the Mets Minor League System.
I really don’t care when he comes back as long as he is back for the start of the playoffs.
He has said all along that the process is going great and just as expected, and it still is. The
doctors have been saying all along that his arm will be great and there shouldn’t be any problem with his fastball reaching the mid-to-high 90’s. Besides, why wouldn’t he be throwing that fast, he’ll have had a full year off.
Unless some crazy, unexpected late-season meltdown happens for the Mets, expect the Pedro of the 90’s to be the top gun in the Mets rotation come October.
Mets GM Omar Minaya, regarding Pedro Martinez, as quoted by Anthony Rieber at Newsday
“I’m counting on him. We’re counting on him. Counting on him to help us win games this season.â€?
Alou STILL NOT READY
Moises Alou, who was expected to come off of the DL today and play for the Mets, will stay on it at least a few more days.
WOW, here we go AGAIN.
According to the Newsday, the leftfielder will have to stay on the disabled list for at least a few more days after injuring his right shoulder in his final minor league rehab game Sunday at Brooklyn.
Alou, who has been out of the lineup for more than two months with a groin injury, had an MRI Tuesday. The tests revealed tendinitis.
I am guessing the team should just put Alou’s whole entire BODY in a cast and leave it in there to prevent any more injury until he feels HEALTHY (wow, healthy and Alou in the same sentence?). When he feels healthy, bring him to the field in an ambulance to prevent any injury… JEEZ, this is never going to end. I feel like I have Ken Griffey Jr. on my favorite team.
Probably won’t, but Strahan May Hold Out
According to the NY Daily News and it’s sources:
“…there are no current plans for the 35-year-old Strahan to hold out in an effort to get an
increase in his $4 million salary, despite months of rumors and reports. However, everyone acknowledges that Strahan is unhappy with his contract, not thrilled with the team’s offseason activity, and is a wild card who on a whim could decide not to show up.
For the moment, though, that’s not part of his strategy. And the Giants don’t expect that to change.
“I’m not worried about that at all,” Giants GM Jerry Reese told the Daily News yesterday. “That’s been rumored since the very beginning. I don’t anticipate that happening. But you try to prepare for anything that can happen. If that does happen, we’ll be prepared for it.”
Strahan’s agent, Tony Agnone, declined comment and Strahan was unable to be reached for comment. According to sources, however, his unhappiness stems from a contentious meeting with Giants management in March, when he was rebuffed in his efforts to get a bump in his contract (he’s due $4 million both this year and next) and expressed his worries about the direction of the team.
Reese declined to comment on the specifics of that meeting. “That’s one of those in-house things that we keep to ourselves,” he said. But since then, Strahan’s situation has been complicated by the six-year, $72 million contract (with $30 million guaranteed) that Indianapolis gave defensive end Dwight Freeney and the seven-year, $49 million contract ($16 million guaranteed) the Lions gave defensive tackle Cory Redding.
Strahan has two years left on a seven-year, $46 million contract he signed in 2002 that included $20.9 million in guaranteed money. He said he believed he had an unwritten agreement with the Giants to revisit the deal prior to this season, though Reese made it clear to him in March that was something they weren’t willing to do.