The New York Mets made a move on Friday that was long expected when they decided to part ways with second baseman Luis Castillo. At first it was reported that Castillo had requested a release, but Sandy Alderson made it clear when he spoke to the media that it was under his recommendation that this was done.
"After a long evaluation during spring training, after consulting with [manager] Terry [Collins] and the coaching staff, I made a recommendation to ownership in the best interest of the organization and Louie that he be released," general manager Sandy Alderson said as reported by ESPN NY's Adam Rubin. "Ownership approved."
Despite manager Terry Collins giving a long look at both Castillo and the similarly maligned Oliver Perez, neither was given much chance at the beginning of Spring Training to make the eventual trip north.
Castillo's name was penciled in the lineup Friday morning with him due to bat sixth and play second base, indicating that Collins wasn't aware of this maneuver until the last minute or that the team wasn't planning on releasing him today.
"I said I came here to play and you didn't give me the chance," Castillo said to Newsday about how he thought his playing time was handled. "You didn't use me."
Likely holding up the move was the Mets lack of anyone resembling major league talent at second base. For now New York will hope that Luis Hernandez, Brad Emaus or Daniel Murphy will be able to get the job done.
All told, the Mets cut nine players though Perez was not among them.
Jimmy Hascup contributed to this post.