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.
