Nov

16

Torrealba, Castro - 60/40?

November 16, 2007 |

The signing of Yorvit Torrealba will be formally announced once his physical is complete, as is the case with Ramon Castro. Torrealba will receive $14.4 million for 3 years, and Castro will receive $4 million for two years.

The Torrealba deal, obviously being the attention grabber here has caused much discussion and curiosity amongst Met fans. By now we all know Torrealba’s numbers are far from impressive and he is not an upgrade. So what does Torrealba bring to the table? The consensus seems to be that he is a passionate player who does a great job handling the pitching staff, and has strong leadership qualities. Personally, I do not feel those are deal-breakers.

Here is how I see it.

The Mets did not have many options. Once Posada was off the market the available catchers all seemed to be more or less equivalent, average players. If Castro gets more playing time than it’s a good deal. Castro is a solid player, he has great numbers and should be utilized as much as possible. It can be argued Castro has the ability to be an everyday catcher, but we will avoid that argument since it is inapplicable here. A Torrealba, Castro platoon would be ideal. I would like to see Castro get at least 40% playing time. Last year it was 70% Lo Duca, 30% Castro, but the number’s Lo Duca put up were better than what we are likely to get from Torrealba, therefore Castro should be used more to compensate and potentially add more value in terms production.

Why Torrealba over Lo Duca?

It has been rumored Lo Duca wanted a longer contract with more money than the Mets were willing to give him. Whatever the case may be I think the concern is that Lo Duca is getting old, clearly on the down side of his career, and is injury prone. I was not married to Lo Duca, but I will definitely miss his fire and passion. I am actually looking forward to some change, and am anxious to see if there is more to Torrealba than what his numbers show.

Posted by Trey Coppola


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15 Comments so far

  1. Patrick on November 16, 2007 5:19 pm

    I think Im in LOVE with Trey and Kelly!!!!!!!!!!

  2. Jon on November 16, 2007 5:44 pm

    Ugh. Not a bad fan of this move, thou I understand that the Mets had little choice - aside from overpaying LoDuca.

    Honestly, Torrealba worries me. His defense is worse, his offense worse and the best thing they have said about him is that pitchers are comfortable with him. I would have rather saved that 15 mil, let Castro be the opening day and found a serviceable backup with strong defense - like Micheal Barrett.

    ‘Duc may have had a down year and may have wanted more cash, but I’d feel more comfortable with him back there. Lest we forget that LoDuca did hit 318 in 06 - when he didnt miss significant time due to injury…

  3. Trey Trey on November 16, 2007 5:51 pm

    Obviously you are concerned about Torrealba - he does not have one impressive stat. I say we wait and see. I think having Castro catch every game would be more concerning.

    Barrett and Torrealba I felt pretty much the same about, could have gone either way - I did like that Torrealba had a decent post- season, and proved to work well with COL young arms.

    Lo Duca’s 06 was great - But you will NEVER see that again…

  4. Trey Trey on November 16, 2007 5:54 pm

    I’m also not convinced the Lo Duca deal was about money - I don’t think the Mets wanted him back, period.

  5. recoton1 on November 16, 2007 6:15 pm

    Let’s be honest here. LoDuca piped up on Randolph after the collapse and management did not want dissenting voices in the clubhouse. I guess this means that David Wright will have to do every single interview this season after the game. I’m sure that won’t start to wear on him. I love how another news story that I read was that “Yorvit has a great command of English”.. GREAT.. now one of the biggest assets they can find is a mediocre catcher that speaks a little English. I bet that well of knowledge dries up the instant he misplays a ball or sails one into center field. The last thing this team needed to do was trade away a passionate player with a desire to win for yet another paycheck player from the DR. We may as well trade away Wright, Maine, and Heilman for Cabrera, Livan Hernandez, and Saito. This team has driven off the cliff. Its impossible to not see the Mineya’s prejudice in this.

  6. Conor on November 16, 2007 6:18 pm

    Ok, that last post has got to be pretty offensive, especially since:

    A) Torrelba has been described as a very passionate player.
    B) He isn’t from the Dominican.

  7. Pedro on November 16, 2007 6:52 pm

    I agree with Conor. The prior post was offensive and even though my name is Pedro I won’t take it personally.
    LoDuca was over the hill after 2006, his best year since 2001. The bulb burns brightest whenit’s abot to go out. As for catching options, there aren’t any. Why do you think Omar had to trade for LoDuca in 2005 in the first place? This off-season Ramon Hernandez would have cost too much in prospects, Michael Barrett is loco, Torrealba was the youngest on the market.
    The price per year for him is more then he should have gotten but will be less then the other three will be paid.
    60/40, 55/45, 50/50 Torrealba/Castro works for me.

  8. recoton1 on November 16, 2007 7:45 pm

    Well.. if you find that offensive, I can’t help that. Last year, LoDuca complained vocally about “those guys speak English too”. I am not creating the situation, simply commenting on it. I hope I am wrong, but a guy with 13RBI after the All Star break and a .211 BA away from Coors Field scares the hell out of me. Also sorry for noticing that we have ONE position player who’s first language is English on the team.

  9. The Adjunct Professor on November 17, 2007 9:11 am

    Getting back to the points Trey brought out; First, I think we have no choice but to wait and see, because this is the move the Mets have made.

    Still, while I have nothing against Torrealba, and do not know how the year will play out, I AM a LoDuca fan. I love the fire and passion he plays with. This is a man who was willing to play hurt (management balked at times, but LoDuca would have gone in). When his numbers were down, he never blamed it on injuries or not feeling well.

    Moreover, part of the reason LoDuca’s numbers were down was he was moved out of the number 2 whole. Now, I know that Luis Castillo is an ideal two whole hitter. Still, for a good portion of the year, Castillo was not a Met and LoDuca still did not hit second.

    While Paulie may not have the speed of an ideal number two hitter, and while hitting further down in the order may have given him the opportunity to get more RBIs, it still did not help overall. LoDuca understood how to protect the runners, how to put the bat on the ball, and even with his numbers last year, if not injured, with the game on the line, I would rather have him at the plate than almost anyone else. He is clutch.

    Also, I agree with Trey that this was about wanting to get someone else in because the Mets are concerned about LoDuca’s age and injuries.

    I think to stay in New York, as a lifetime Met fan, LoDuca would have taken fewer years, but the Mets did not want him (although they did not trade him away they just did not extend his contract or resign him– to another point made here).

    For good or for bad, the move is done. Hopefully with this one out of the way they can focus on what they truly need and that is pitching. Lets hope!

  10. chad on November 17, 2007 9:12 am

    i dont think recoton was being the slightest bit offensive.he was pointing out the facts. you can not deny that since omar became GM our team is dominated by latino players, those are simple facts, its not like he wrote that the whole team eats rice and beans for lunch. some of you bloggers need to lighten up, smile . there are no vaginas in baseball.

  11. Steve from Norfolk on November 17, 2007 1:07 pm

    Chad,

    Now THAT was an offensive post. Have you noticed the sex of your hosts on this blog?

  12. Steve from Norfolk on November 17, 2007 1:08 pm

    Chad,

    Now THAT was an offensive post. Have you noticed the sex of your hosts on this blog? They deserve a little courtesy.

  13. chad on November 17, 2007 1:37 pm

    steve, i still am not finding anything offensive here, and yes i know the sex of the host and i am for sure she is familiar with the word vagina.

  14. Conor on November 17, 2007 3:33 pm

    “i dont think recoton was being the slightest bit offensive.he was pointing out the facts”

    SO like the fact that Torrelba is from the Dominican Republic, even though he isn’t? Or the fact that all of the latin players are simply interested in cashing their checks and don’t care if they win or not? Where have these “facts” been documented?
    “Also sorry for noticing that we have ONE position player who’s first language is English on the team.”

    What is Lastings Milldge’s first language?

    And so what? Who cares what their first language is? And that isn’t what you were noticing; you were accusing the latin players (who apparently are all from the Dominican Republic now) of not caring if they win or not as long as they get paid. That is offensive. It’s pretty much racist.

  15. Steve from Norfolk on November 17, 2007 5:44 pm

    Did you see the Newsday article? Torrealba talks have “collapsed”! He must have flunked his physical today.

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