Numbers Say Bad Trade, I Say Good Trade

The Mets traded backup catcher, and fan favorite, Ramon Castro to the White Sox for Lance Broadway.

Omir Santos, the current fan favorite, has hit well since coming up to the big leagues, though he has really terrible minor league numbers.

How bad? Let's just say his minor league statistical history tells us he will come back to Earth in the hitting department, but hopefully he keeps the ride going a while longer.

In parts of 9 minor league seasons he has a .258 BA, .303 OBP, .348 Slg and .650 OPS. That, my friends, is bottom of the barrel bad.

That said, Omir has hit and played well with the Mets. After going 2-for-5 Friday, he is hitting .276 in 27 games, with three homers and 17 RBI.

The hard part of this trade to swallow is that the Mets traded power. Ramon Castro hit .253 in 26 games, with three homers and 13 RBI, and has had some big homeruns for the Mets. He was always a solid late game pinch-hitting option if the Mets needed a big hit, though for some reason Jerry Manuel rarely used him in that situation, opting for just about anyone else. He only pinch-hit 4 times this year.

He has also had a lot of injuries, and at age 33, that situation is likely to get worse, not better. One of the running jokes amongst Mets writers and fans were "when will Ramon go to the DL" polls.

But the key to the trade isn't Omir, or Santos or Broadway--it's Brian Schneider.

Schneider has not hit this year (.143 BA), and he hit poorly in the first half of last year.

But take heart Mets fans, he had a very good second half of 2008, and if he returns to that form, the Mets will be in very good shape behind the plate.

Schneider played his best ball of the year in August and September, hitting .274 with 7 homeruns and 18 RBIs in 106 at-bats. That is terrific production from a catcher.

So a little hope from me:

I believe Omir Santos will continue to make contact (lord knows he won't walk) and play solid defense while calling a good game. Brian Schneider comes back healthy, rested, and capable of contributing to the offense, and the Mets have a solid, injury free duo from here on out.

I like Ramon, always have, and the numbers may say bad trade, but I like it.