The Mets traded catcher Ramon Castro, who had been with the team since 2005, to the White Sox in exchange for pitcher Lance Broadway. Broadway will be a starter in Triple-A Buffalo. With the White Sox, Broadway was 0-1 and sported a 5.06 ERA as a relief pitcher.

Castro was a reliable signal caller as a backup, but he has suffered injuries over the past couple of years. He had actually slimmed down during the off-season and seemed primed for a better year than last year.

His defense has never been particularly good. Earlier this season, he dropped a pop fly and failed to block home plate on a couple of occasions when runners where barreling toward him. He also wasn’t great at throwing runners out.

Castro seemed to be a clubhouse favorite and resident class clown, often playing practical jokes on his teammates.

With Omir Santos providing several clutch hits this season and providing excellent defense, it seemed like Castro’s days, or day as it turned out, were numbered with starter Brian Schneider coming off the disabled list. When Schneider got hurt, logic would’ve suggested that Castro would become the primary starter. However, Santos’s surprising Spring Training performance and clutch hitting moved him ahead of Castro.

Castro will be missed but the future seems bright with Santos. Who knows? If he keeps it up, maybe Schneider will be relegated to backup and Santos will be the starter.

On the night before the Mets have to make a move to make room for Brian Schneider, they got an Omiracle as Omir Santos provided all of the offense, hitting a solo home run to tie the game and then had the walk-off hit to win it in 11 innings. It was just the third extra-innings win for the Mets this season. The Mets held on to first place, staying a half-game ahead of the Phillies who beat the Nationals, 5-4.

Gary Sheffield got it all started when he had a lead-off single and then stole a base. The throw to second got away, and Sheffield walked into third base. Santos then delivered his single.

Until Sheffield’s hit, the middle of the Mets order was held in check. Carlos Beltran, in his first game back in centerfield since hobbled by a sore knee, David Wright and Sheffield had gone 0-for-12. Wright doesn’t seem like he’s seeing the ball well any more as he had two more strikeouts. Ramon Martinez had two hits but was substituted for by Wilson Valdez. Valdez played some excellent defense in the late innings.

Mike Pelfrey was excellent tonight as he pitched into the eighth inning going 7 2/3 with six strikeouts. It was the second time in which a Mets starter pitched in the eighth inning in three games. Marlins starter Sean West was just as good, going seven innings.

Word is the Mets are in talks with the Chicago White Sox, who are looking for a catcher who bats right-handed. That could spell trouble for Ramon Castro if a deal is reached. It’s impossible to tell how Schneider will do coming off of a couple of injuries, but it’s well known that Castro is not a particularly good defensive catcher. Of the three catchers, you have to believe that Castro is the weakest one, even though he’s been with the team the longest.

Would you be sad to see Castro go?

Angel Pagan RF
Luis Castillo 2B
Carlos Beltran CF
Gary Sheffield LF
David Wright 3B
Fernando Tatis 1B
Omir Santos C
Ramon Martinez SS
Mike Pelfrey P

Good news for the Mets as Beltran returns to the lineup after having missed a few games with a sore knee. This leaves the struggling Fernando Martinez on the bench.

Beltran’s return comes at a good time as the Mets take on the Marlins, who took two out of three games from the Phillies to help propel the Mets into first place. The Mets are just a half-game ahead in the standings. The Mets could use Beltran’s bat as they face Sean West, whom most of the Mets haven’t faced before.

The Mets are coming off an off-day, so they should be rested.

Brian Schneider has finished his rehab assignment and could be called up as soon as tonight when the Mets take on the Florida Marlins at Citi Field. He’s been out for practically the entire season due to two injuries: a strained back and then a strained calf while rehabbing the first time.

The big question is, who would get sent down? Surely, the odds are on Omir Santos, even though he’s caught more consistently than Ramon Castro. But Santos doesn’t have a multimillion dollar contract like Castro does. Santos has been very productive though and he’s a great defensive catcher, much better than Castro. Santos’s first Major League home run was a grand slam.

Another possibility is that one of the catchers could be traded to the Padres, from whom the Mets just acquired a player. Corner outfielder Emil Brown was traded to the Mets for an as yet undisclosed player. Emil, who is a career .258 hitter and will start at Triple-A Buffalo.

Which catcher would you send down or trade?

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This week’s question is: Which player was the first current Met to hit a home run during the regular season at Citi Field?

Each week, we’ll ask a question related to Citi Field. We’ll then take all the names of people who got the question correct and put them in a random drawing. Each winner will receive either the “The New York Mets: Essential Games of Shea Stadium DVD Set” or “The NY Mets 1986 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD Set.” Only one prize per winner will be given out.

Check back every Monday at http://mets.lohudblogs.com to see that week’s question.

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With their respective wins last night, both the Mets and the Yankees are in first place in their divisions. It’s the first time in more than a year that both were at the top.

The Mets are hot, coming off of winning five games out of their last six and the Yankees, who are actually tied with the Red Sox, have won seven of their last 10 games.

The Mets did have a three-game sweep against the lowly Nationals and took two out of three from the Red Sox, but they’ve been playing with half of their core on the disabled list.

Now that Alex Rodriguez is back, the Yankees have been on a tear, hitting home run after home run. Mark Teixeira is on fire having hit 15 homers and 39 RBI.

In your honest opinion, which team is better right now?

It was a night of firsts as the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals, 7-4. Johan Santana got the win, his league-leading seventh, with a little help, despite allowing six walks, one an RBI. He struck out 11, and the Mets pitchers struck out 15 on the night.

Daniel Murphy had a huge night, with three hits including five RBI and a home run. The homer was the fourth one in five games that was reviewed with video replay by the umpires. The hit was first called a double as it looked like the ball dropped into right field below the Pepsi Porch.

Jerry Manuel went out to argue that it actually hit the Pepsi Porch facade, which is considered a home run. After a review, the umpires agreed. Even the fans were mixed on whether or not it went the distance as those sitting above it said it didn’t touch the wall, while the ones below said it did. Santana was the beneficiary as the Mets went ahead 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth. He had already thrown 120 pitches.

Luis Castillo reached base five times, with two hits and three walks. Angel Pagan also had a good night at the plate with two hits and a walk. Gary Sheffield was 1-for-2 with two RBI and two walks.

Fernando Martinez had a mixed night making a great catch against the fence in right field. He committed a huge mistake when in the sixth inning he hit a popup in the infield that was dropped. He failed to run right away and was thrown out at first. He was booed in his next at-bat. He still hasn’t gotten his first Major League hit.

One cause of concern is something Manuel said in his post-game news conference. Sheffield was thrown out at home plate when the Murphy home run was initially called a double. He didn’t slide and was tagged out. Manuel said he thought it had to do more with a problem with his legs than a mental mistake. The Mets need to tread lightly here as they can’t afford to lose Sheffield to injury. Luckily, the Mets have an off-day Thursday to rest.

Here are the list of firsts in tonight’s game:

1. The Mets are now in first place, after the Phillies lost to the Marlins, 6-2.
2. Daniel Murphy played first base and committed his first error at that position. Murphy’s five RBI is a career high.
3. David Wright struck out four times, earning his first golden sombrero of his career.
4. Wilson Valdez made his first appearance with his first pinch-hit attempt. He grounded out.

Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Gary Sheffield LF
Daniel Murphy 1B
Ramon Castro C
Fernando Martinez RF
Ramon Martinez SS
Johan Santana P

The Mets are on a roll against the worst team in baseball, and they should be able to keep it up with Santana on the mound. If they can sweep the Nationals tonight, they’ll have an off day tomorrow before taking on the spiraling Marlins, though they are always dangerous.

Livan Hernandez gave the bullpen a lot of rest last night by pitching a complete game, so they should be primed and ready to go tonight. Santana hasn’t been able to pitch into the eighth inning at all this season but he might get a shot at it tonight.

Fernando Martinez gets his second straight start and another shot to get his first hit as a Major Leaguer. He performed admirably in right field last night, even though he did get turned around on a ball over his head.

The lineup is pretty much the same as last night, except Murphy is playing first with Fernando Tatis sitting, and both F-Mart and Ramon Martinez get pushed farther down in the order.

The Mets beat the Nationals, 6-1, behind an amazing outing by Livan Hernandez, who threw a season high 127 pitches, with six strikeouts. The one run was off a homer by Adam Dunn.

Hernandez is the first Mets pitcher to throw a complete since Johan Santana did it in the last weekend of last season. It was a welcome sight for the Mets bullpen, who were able to rest their arms for a night.

On a day where two of the starters, Ryan Church and Jose Reyes, were placed on the disabled list, the Mets had plenty of offense helped by Gary Sheffield’s second three-run home run, without video replay, in as many games.

Also, in this game, top prospect Fernando Martinez made his Major League debut. Although he was 0-for-3 at the plate, including two strikeouts, he did drive in his first RBI. His outfield play was solid.

David Wright continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-5. Angel Pagan also contributed two hits in the leadoff spot.

Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
David Wright 3B
Gary Sheffield LF
Fernando Tatis 1B
Fernando Martinez RF
Omir Santos C
Ramon Martinez SS
Livan Hernandez P

The Mets top prospect Fernando Martinez makes his much ballyhooed debut in the Major Leagues tonight as the Mets take on the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Jerry Manuel wasted no time in inserting Martinez into the lineup in the six hole.

Martinez has been tearing through the Minors where he’s batting .291 (48-165) with 22 runs scored, 15 doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 28 RBI through his first 42 games of the season. When you take into account only the games he’s played in May, his average goes up to .337.

Carlos Beltran is sitting out the rest of the series with a bruised knee. The Mets cannot afford to lose Beltran to the disabled list, too. Ryan Church and Jose Reyes were sent to the DL earlier today. Beltran’s offensive production will be sorely missed.

The Mets offense will face Nationals starter and rookie Craig Stammen, who has only pitched on game so far this season. He pitched 6 1/3 innings vs. the Pirates and allowed four runs. However, he threw four perfect innings before being tagged with those runs.

The Mets have placed Jose Reyes and Ryan Church on the 15-day disabled list. Both are retroactive – Reyes to May 21 for right-calf tendinitis and Church to May 23 for a tight hamstring.

This means that Fernando Martinez will be called up from Triple-A Buffalo, where he’s been on fire, to help fill out the 25-man roster. He’s batting .291 with eight home runs. At age 20, Martinez will be the youngest player in the majors.

The highly touted No. 1 prospect in the Mets farm system is finally going to get a chance to show everyone what he’s got. Are you excited? Is it too soon? Do you agree with bringing him up? If he is as advertised, the Mets sure could use him now.

The Mets also acquired infielder Wilson Valdez for cash considerations from the Cleveland Indians. He was batting .198 in Triple-A Columbus with 17 runs scored and five stolen bases in 41 games.

Here is the release: DL announcement

The announcement is a surprise after reports said that a decision on Reyes wasn’t likely until Friday. We are still waiting word on the results of Carlos Beltran’s MRI, but if the results are bad, you could see him going to the DL as well.

MLB.com is reporting that Beltran will probably sit out the next two games.

Last week’s question was: With all of the players on the disabled list, which player is the most crucial loss for the team?

Here are the results:

Carlos Delgado, 80 percent
Oliver Perez, 12 percent
Billy Wagner, 0 percent
Brian Schneider, 2 percent
Alex Cora, 6 percent

It’s no surprise that Delgado ran away with this one. The Mets’ lineup has been beleaguered due to injuries to its core, Delgado, Jose Reyes and now Carlos Beltran, who is awaiting the results of an MRI to see what’s wrong with his knee.

Offensively, the Mets have been able to get by thanks to Gary Sheffield, who has really stepped up and added some much-needed power to the lineup. Never was the loss of Delgado’s bat felt more than the Dodgers series, when the Mets were swept and mustered only six runs in three games. Sheffield had been sidelined by illness. With Sheffield seeing more playing time, his bat has heated up. He’s now hit two home runs in his last four games.

Right now, however, the Mets are middle heavy. Whereas when Delgado and Reyes were in the lineup it was one of the most formidable orders in the National League. If you were an opposing pitcher, you had Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, Wright and Sheffield coming at you one after another. With all of the injuries, the Mets are only down to Beltran, Wright and Sheffield. The rest of the lineup is riddled with light hitters like Ramon Martinez, Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy.

If Beltran goes down, too, the Mets will really be in trouble. If Reyes’s leg doesn’t get better by this weekend, you could also see him going on the disabled list. They could call up Fernando Martinez, but he wouldn’t really add to the power quotient. The Mets have to pray that Beltran’s MRI comes back with good news and that Reyes’s leg gets better.

There’s been a lot of controversy over the way the Mets’ training staff and management have handled the various injuries to the team. They seem to keep injured players on the active roster, but not available to play at all, which shortens the bench. It worked out against the Red Sox, because they were able to use a designated hitter and didn’t have to pinch hit as much. Now that they’re back to playing National League teams, they’ll need to utilize their bench more.

Delgado bounced back and forth from availability to unavailability until finally he was placed on the DL. Would the Mets have been better off placing him on the DL right away and getting him back faster? The same situation is going on with Reyes now.

This week’s poll question is: Do you agree with the way the Mets staff is handling injured Mets players?

Congratulations to Harold Tevelowitz of Thornwood, who correctly answered last week’s contest question: What is the total seating capacity of Citi Field?

The answer is: 41,800.

Tevelowitz will be receiving a copy of “The New York Mets: Essential Games of Shea Stadium DVD Set.”

This week’s question is: Which player was the first current Met to hit a home run during the regular season at Citi Field?

Each week, we’ll ask a question related to Citi Field. We’ll then take all the names of people who got the question correct and put them in a random drawing. Each winner will receive either the “The New York Mets: Essential Games of Shea Stadium DVD Set” or “The NY Mets 1986 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD Set.” Only one prize per winner will be given out.

Check back every Monday at http://mets.lohudblogs.com to see that week’s question.

Click here to register and answer the question.

Despite giving up nine walks in the game, the Mets held on to win their third game out of four, beating the Washington Nationals 5-2. John Maine started and pitched six innings, allowing one run.

The Mets, wearing red hats in honor of Memorial Day, went ahead in the sixth inning when Gary Sheffield hit a three-run home run, or was it? For the third game in a row, there was a home run review in a game the Mets played in. This one, just like the previous two, went the Mets’ way.

Bobby Parnell came into the game in the top of the seventh and walked three batters before giving up an RBI hit. JJ Putz pitched to the last batter of the seventh and the eighth inning. He walked two more batters but got out of it.

Francisco Rodriguez kept up the trend, allowing another walk after giving up a hit, putting runners on first and second. But he shut the Nats down and earned his 13th save.

The Mets two, three and four hitters, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran and Sheffield, all had two hits on the night. Maine also had a hit, raising his batting average to .222, not bad for a pitcher. Beltran and Ramon Martinez drove in the other two runs. Jose Reyes sat out again.

The Mets are now just a half game behind the Phillies for first place and gained a game on the Atlanta Braves. This is the serious where they need to beat up the Nats and make it as difficult as possible for the Phillies to stay in first place. Nothing less than a series win will be considered a success.

Daniel Murphy 1B
Angel Pagan RF
Carlos Beltran DH
Gary Sheffield LF
David Wright 3B
Jeremy Reed CF
Ramon Castro C
Ramon Martinez SS
Luis Castillo 2B

The Mets go for the sweep today as they face Red Sox knuckleball thrower Tim Wakefield this afternoon. The good news is Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, Fernando Tatis and Ramon Martinez, yes that Ramon Martinez, have a combined .409 batting average against Wakefield.

Mets starter Tim Redding will have to be better than he was in his first outing against the Dodgers. Luckily, Francisco Rodriguez will be back with the team after getting a scare before yesterday’s game. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital after experiencing severe back spasms. They were so bad that it affected his legs. He seems to be OK now. Not that the Mets needed him last night as JJ Putz filled in for him and despite allowing a leadoff walk, shut the door with the help of some excellent defense.