The Mets shored up their offense and filled a huge hole by picking up Twins second baseman Luis Castillo. The fleet footed, gold glover won’t give the team much pop but the Mets have plenty of big sticks so having a table setter like Castillo in the front part of the lineup is a big boost to the Mets. In exchange for Castillo, the Mets gave up Drew Butera and Dustin Martin, both of whom are fringe prospects. Of course this is a short term rental because Castillo hits the market after the season unless the Mets decide to lock him up.
The Mets sit on a 3 1/2 game lead although it’s now over the Phillies and not the Braves. The Braves just picked up Mark Teixeira and that gives them a bump as well. All of a sudden, the NL East just got a whole lot more interesting. Starting tomorrow, the NL East leader takes on the NL Central leader as the Mets go to Milwaukee to play the Brewers. It’s Tom Glavine against Jeff Suppan in the opener.
