Trade aftermath: Castillo to Mets

While not as grand as getting Mark Teixeira, the Mets made a move of their own today, acquiring Luis Castillo from the Twins for very little. Needless to say, I am quite happy that Omar Minaya was able to pull this one off.

Mets get: 2B Luis Castillo
Twins get: OF Dustin Martin (A+), C Drew Butera (AA)
Quick outlook: Castillo gains value. Martin is unaffected. Butera is unaffected.
Indirectly affected: Alexi Casilla gains value. Ruben Gotay loses value. Damien Easley loses a little value. Marlon Anderson loses a little value. Paul Lo Duca loses a little value.

Analysis:
Luis Castillo moves into a much more favorable situation with the Mets. He’ll likely bat second, giving him plenty of opportunities to score runs. Castillo should be considered in deep 10 and owned in 12 and 14-team mixed leagues. He should be owned in all but shallow NL-only leagues. With him and Tadahito Iguchi joining the National League, Chase Utley owners in NL-only leagues might be able to cushion the blow.

If Castillo bats second, Paul Lo Duca would be pushed down to the sixth or seventh spot, which would hurt his value. The trade-off will be runs for RBIs, but it will be much harder for him to get RBIs with his poor power than it was to score runs with Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado behind him.

Castillo will likely push Gotay off second base. The Mets might decide he is better off taking regular at-bats in Triple-A than sitting the bench in the majors. If that is the case, Easely and Anderson would maintain their current roles with perhaps a few less at-bats.

Alexi Casilla is likely the beneficiary in Minnesota. There is no official word yet, but he will most likely be recalled to take up second for the Twins the rest of the season. Casilla is a guy in the Luis Castillo mold. He has very little power but makes excellent contact (90%-ish contact rate) and has pretty good patience (9%-ish walk rate). Those numbers might drop a little in the majors, but Casilla should still be able to hit .275-.280. He also has very good speed and could steal 15 bases in the final two months. Where he bats will determine the rest of his value. He can be picked up in 14-team mixed and deep 10, 12, and 14-team AL-only leagues.