Sean's Sports

You read that right, folks. The AP and Ken Rosenthal are both reporting that the Mets have signed second baseman Luis Castillo for a staggering 4 years, $25 million.

This is mind boggling. Firstly, it should be clear to everyone that he's no longer the player he once was. So why isn't his salary going down? He no longer has great range in the field (just adequate), and he can no longer steal bases on a regular basis. By the time he left the Twins, he was at the point of not even being an every day player any more. Is that worth $6.25 million per year?

And secondly, 4 years? Four? I don't think I'd bet that Luis Castillo will still have legs in four years. He can barely walk. Why would anyone give a guy like this a long term deal?

Now I like Castillo. I liked him before he came to the Twins, while he was here, and after he left. But if the Twins had signed this contract instead of the Mets, I'd be absolutely furious. It looks to me like this is a case of the Mets wanting to look like they're doing something proactive, and spending foolishly.

On the other hand, Rosenthal reports that the Astros, Nationals, and Cubs had all expressed interest in Castillo, and that could have driven his price up, especially given that he was the Mets' first choice of second basemen on the market. Perhaps TR should have done a better job of driving his trade value up if there was this much interest in him. It's impossible to know, however.