According to Metsblog, Andy Martino, Adam Rubin, and Brian Costa, the Mets have released Castillo.
This is breaking news, so I don't have a lot of details yet, but if you have been following the Mets this Spring this has been set up the inevitable. If the reports are true, it is the end of the Castillo era, which is one of the most psychologically interesting era's in Mets history. Castillo was a player who did hustle, and at least one good season with the Mets (2009) and yet represented so much that was wrong with the Mets at the same time.
The negative representation wasn't fully Castillo's fault. Yes he struggled, and he did hamper the lineup. But in someways he became the physical embodiment of everything that was and is wrong with the Mets. Castillo came over in the latter half of 2007, right before the collapse. He then later got a massive three year contract, which was a perfect example of the Omar administration trying to win now by over compensating players that had readily available WARP players on the market. He later would become one of Omar's guys, thus giving him an additional stigma. Luis was then the victim of Jerry's horrible lineup construction, especially last season, where he was given the 2nd spot, when in reality, it was time to drop him in the lineup.
At the same time, releasing him is completely necessary. He isn't what he used to be, and the Mets have better options, at least offensively, then Luis Castillo. It is better to lose with younger players still climbing to their ceilings, than it is to lose with an aging former star that is overpaid. Or in other words, to be real, the Mets are going to need luck to be good this year. It is worth the gamble on unknown talent, rather than dwindling, consistent talent.
Luis Castillo faced a lot of criticism, from people including myself. He deserved some, not all. Good luck with whatever life brings next.
Now the Mets have to figure out their 2B issues.
