The Mets have acquired second baseman Luis Castillo from the Twins for minor leaguers Dustin Martin and Drew Butera. Castillo fills a big need as he is an excellent defensive player and a pest on offense. He played in 85 games this season for the Twins and he was 106 for 349 (.304 avg, .708 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 0 homers, 18 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. The Mets didn’t really give up to much to get Castillo as the price was right. Dustin Martin was ranked as the #19 prospect in the Mets organization before the season started. He is a 23-year old outfielder who played in 95 games in rookie and A-ball this season. In those games the lefty swinging Martin was 106 for 367 (.289 avg, .781 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 5 homers, 52 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Drew Butera is no loss at all for the Mets. He’s a soon to be 24-year old catcher that has problems hitting the baseball. Butera has played in 82 games in the minors this season and he is 69 for 299 (.231 avg, .641 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 6 homers and 26 RBIs.

The Mets have designated catcher Sandy Alomar for assignment. The Mets just didn’t feel the need to keep 3 catchers on their active roster. Alomar appeared in 3 games for the Mets this season and he was 2 for 6 (.333 avg) with 1 run scored. Alomar will likely report back to AAA for the Mets if no one claims him after his 10 day waiting period is over.

Jose Valentin fouled a ball off of his right leg last night and he broke his fibula. He will miss a lot of time and possibly the rest of the season with this injury. Valentin has played in 51 games this season with the Mets and he is 40 for 166 (.241 avg, .675 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 3 homers and 18 RBIs. The Mets will replace Valentin in the lineup with Ruben Gotay who is having a great season for the Mets so far. Gotay has played in 45 games this season and he is 35 for 99 (.354 avg, .913 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 4 homers and 16 RBIs.

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The Mets have called up Lastings Milledge and designated Julio Franco for assignment. Lastings Milledge will take over as the Mets starting leftfielder until Moises Alou returns from the DL. Milledge has played in 19 games in the minors this season (at four different levels) and he is 25 for 73 (.342 avg, .970 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers, 13 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Giving Milledge his big opportunity was smart by the Mets as they really need help right now plus they can showcase him before the trade deadline. Julio Franco didn’t get to play to much this season and that could be part of the reason he struggled so much. But it could be that age is finally catching up to him…after all he is 48 years old. Franco played in 40 games this season and he was 10 for 50 (.200 avg, .588 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

The Mets have signed Marlon Anderson to a minor league deal after the Dodgers released him. Anderson is a good bench player and he will be called up by them at some point in the near future. He played in 23 games for the Dodgers this season and he was 6 for 26 (.231 avg, .541 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs.