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2008 Castro had his best season with the bat in 2007. In his three seasons with the Mets, he's smacked 23 home runs in roughly a full season of play (479 at-bats). In this catching-deprived world, there are less productive backstops with starting jobs, and the Mets will keep Castro in an understudy roll to one of them: new acquisition Brian Schneider. 2007 Castro did a great job of subbing for Mike Piazza in 2005, but last year he careened from one disaster to another. Lo Duca being more durable than Piazza, Castro was already in for a reduction in playing time, but nature took him all the way to the limit. After a strained left quad put him on the DL, Castro tore up a knee while preparing for a rehab appearance. He underwent surgery, missing just over eight weeks. Castro is eligible for free agency after this season; some team may yet be tempted enough by his power to offer him a starting job. 2005 Sexual assault charges stemming from a 2003 incident followed Castro all year long until a plea agreement ended the issue in November. Whether it was the charges, an early-season slump or an injured toe that did it, 2004 was a lost year. The Mets have signed him to a minor league deal; he'd make a fine backup for Mike Piazza in New York, but he has to beat out Vance Wilson and Jason Phillips, or just one of them on a three-catcher roster. 2003 Castro sprained his elbow and hit the DL on May 19, and with Mike Redmond grabbing the top backup job in the meantime and Charles Johnson packing his bags, he may be several million dollars lighter for it. Left alone to start, Castro could easily hit 20 bombs in 2003, and with his relative youth that would net him a multiyear contract somewhere. For now, he’s behind Redmond on the depth chart. 2002 The Fish were able to sneak Castro through waivers in April, raising questions as to whether anybody in MLB actually watches the waiver wire. Whatever chance Castro had at a career with the Marlins died when Charles Johnson passed on exercising his out clause. Hopefully, Castro will be traded this spring and allowed to win the starting job for which he's been qualified for two years. He'd be worth two or three wins to a team like the Cardinals. 2001 Ramon Castro was handed a starting job in spring training but was overmatched offensively and sent to Calgary. There, Cannons’ hitting coach Sal Rende improved Castro's balance by opening up his stance. However, when he was recalled in late July, he reverted to lunging at pitches. Castro is a strong catch-and-throw receiver whose over-aggressiveness at bat won’t allow him to be as good as he could be. The Charles Johnson signing makes Castro trade bait. 2000 The nominal catcher of the future hasn’t shown as much offensive development as you’d like to see, but reached the majors last August anyway. Castro is a good defensive catcher who will hit enough to be a starter right now and is young enough to improve. He should be up to stay. 1999 The prize for trading Jay Powell to the Astros, Castro is a top-notch defensive catcher: he was gunning almost half of opposing thieves at Jackson, and his gamecalling has improved since he learned to “habla.” He’s got a Bo Diaz-sized case of the slows on the bases, which for a player this young is surprising. Only an elbow injury kept him from a September callup in ’98, but he’s expected to be 100% in camp. He should be the Marlins’ starting catcher by ’00. 1998 Since being the highest-selected Puerto Rican amateur, expectations have been high. They also aren’t unjustified, as 1997 was finally the kind of year the Astros were expecting. Castro is agile and has a cannon behind the plate. There’s talk that he could move up quickly if he hits at Double-A. 1997 Young catching prospect with a good mix of offensive skills. He’s still young enough that lots of bad things can happen to him, but there’s so much to like here it’s easy to envision him in the Dome, or Northern Virginia, in 1999.
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