Jerry Manuel said today that Luis Castillo could come off the DL as soon as Tuesday in Washington against the Nationals, setting the stage for a potential showdown between the manager and second baseman over playing time. Manuel likes how Damion Easley and Argenis Reyes have performed in place of Castillo, who went on the DL with a strained hip flexor in early July.
Because of the performances of Easley and Reyes, and with the Mets playing well over .500 ball with Castillo not in the lineup, Manuel repeated again today that Castillo will likely be a part-time player when he comes back despite being in the first year of a four-year, $25 million contract.
“Weâre trying to do the best thing to win,” Manuel said when asked if he was concerned about Castillo’s response to sharing time. “Thatâs just where we are right now. Weâre not pacifying any egos or anything like that. Weâre trying to do the best thing we can to win.”
Should be interesting.
