Reese Kaplan -- David Stearns Moving Pieces on the Chess Board

Perhaps more than most others I have been vocal about needing to see roster revisions to reinforce holes that required addressing to make the team more resistant to these vulnerabilities.  There were questions arising regarding the offensive thin ice from the outfielders, the glut of infielders, the DH role being used ineffectively and the slumps of a great many proven ballplayers.

In addition, there were parallel issues with the pitching staff.  On the starting side recent poor outings from Tylor Megill and David Peterson started whetting the blades that would be needed when the injured trio rehabbing got closer to a return to major league play.  On the bullpen side the injuries to A.J. Minter and Danny Young opened up needs to reinforce the support staff.  In addition there were some relievers (including closer Edwin Diaz) who were not offering up the kind of All Star level performance from the past.

David Stearns just this week made a trade for DFA’d lefty reliever Jose Castillo from the Diamondbacks.  Once a promising southpaw, Castillo then suffered though a long period of ill health after which he was not a shadow of his former self.  Back in 2018 when he broke in as a 22 year old rookie, the hulking Castillo was in 37 games and finished his first taste of the majors with 52 strikeouts over the season and he looked as if he was going to be a major part of the Padres’ future.

Unfortunately, over the next sever seasons Castillo was unable to pitch due to arm problems.  In 2019 through 2024 he appeared in a grand total of just three major league games.  With a fresh start in Arizona he was apparently healthy but in five games there he pitched to an 11.37 ERA with an equal number of 4.3 strikeouts and 4.3 walks per 9 innings pitched on average.  The D’backs gave up and sought to free a roster space.  Enter the Mets.

While it’s entirely possible that the initial talent on display is indeed still there while the 6’6” lefty has been unable to play in the majors, it’s also perhaps a sign that the Mets were willing to roll the dice on a high risk gamble to reinforce left handed relief pitching.

The second part of this equation concerned how he would make his way onto the Mets roster.  The first step was the removal of Kevin Herget from the 40-man roster to create space for Castillo.  The now 34 year old right handed Herget was pitching to a 2.87 ERA for Syracuse but his career record was nothing spectacular.

The third part was deciding how to push him onto the 26 man active roster.  In this particular case it became a matter of who had options available and who did not.  For example, the Mets would be required to expose a pitcher like fellow lefty Genesis Cabrera to waivers rather than demoting him.  

Returning from injury and only one-time previously in the majors, Dedniel Nunez did not have this logistical constraint, so he got the boot.  Now to be fair, Nunez has struggled in most of his outings since he returned, leaving for Syracuse with 7.36 ERA, an average of 14.7 walks and 7.4 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched.  While Nunez did not perform at a level desired, it was more about his available option that motivated his ride back upstate.

Will these moves made to bring in the once impressive Castillo work?  No one knows at this point, but David Stearns has been more shrewd in his personnel decisions than many others would have been.  How could have predicted the success of Griffin Canning, the successful conversion of Clay Holmes, the resurgence of Huascar Brazoban or a few others?  At least the wheels are turning which is a positive thing.  Whether or not they are steered in the right direction is still too premature to conclude.