Don’t Repeat History, Put Castillo On The DL
With Jose Reyes expected to make a return to active duty tomorrow you’d say that things would be looking up for the Mets even in light of a mostly poor season opening series against the Florida Marlins in which they lost 2 of 3 games. You’d also probably be right. But I can’t help but morbidly amused at the news that Luis Castillo is having trouble with his calf.
I don’t have very high expectations for Castillo despite having previously been a fan of his (in his pre-Met days). And I know it would be foolish to expect him to stay healthy all season considering his history. Many people would say he helps the team when he doesn’t play and they may be right but only if he’s on the disabled list and can free up a roster spot for someone else.
But it’s looking like Castillo will probably remain on the active roster while waiting to see how quickly his calf heals. This means the Mets will have to keep Ruben Tejada on the roster for infield depth until a decision is made on Castillo. That means that either a relief pitcher or other position player (perhaps Frank Catalanotto) will need to be cut from the roster.
I’d think the Mets would be better served by putting Castillo on the disabled list now instead of waiting until later. This would allow the team to stay with it’s roster strategy and not cut someone who really needs to stay. It would also give Castillo plenty of time to heal and (hopefully) be 100% healthy and ready for the long run of the season.
Omar Minaya and the Mets medical staff need to learn from the past. The last several years of Mets history is littered with these wait and see situations and the end result usually goes one of two ways:
- After a few days rest the player comes back and hurts himself worse than before.
- Players ends up sitting out several games before it’s discovered that the injury is much worse than originally thought and a long DL stint ensues.
So why wait? Put Castillo on the DL now. Let him get better without the pressure of needing to be on the field and without the distraction of needing to accommodate his position with another roster move. Then when he’s eligible to come off the DL (if he’s healthy) he can be activated and Tejada can be sent down as originally planned anyway.
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