Luis Castillo

Castillo once was best known for his four-year, $25 million deal, but after his dropped pop-up gave the Yankees a gift win, he likely will be better known for that. Despite that miscue, Castillo might have been the Mets' MVP last year, as he turned back the clock to his halcyon Florida days. Castillo lost 17 pounds last offseason, which took some pressure off his oft-injured knees and allowed him to remain healthy all year. Castillo hit .302 with a .387 OBA and stole 20 bases in 142 games and that rebound year might allow the Mets to move him and the last two years of his contract for a second baseman with more pop. If he does remain in NY, look for him to hit second again.

Castillo was plagued by leg woes all season despite having his knees scoped to remove dead tissue in October 2007. Even when Castillo was said to be healthy, he looked slow in the field and on the basepaths, and with three years remaining on his four-year, $25 million albatross of a deal, he may remain a Met for a while as it will be hard to move him. Castillo reportedly accepted responsibility for his out-of-shape, poor 2008 and stated a desire to make amends, but don't expect much given that speed was his most valuable tool for fantasy owners and aging legs don't often produce much on the basepaths.

Castillo signed a four-year, $25 million contract to remain with the Mets after being acquired from the Twins in July. His chronically sore knees cost him about 10 games and a strained quad sidelined him 10 more last season, which resulted in a slight drop in steals from 25 to 19. In moving his home field from turf to natural grass, look for Castillo, who will bat second in New York, to run a bit more as his legs should be fresher than they were in Minnesota.

Castillo's first season in the AL featured a slight dip in his OBP but also a surprising increase in his stolen bases with the move to artificial turf. There were some worries Castillo's chronically sore knees would be a problem playing in the Metrodome, but the Twins were careful to give him frequent rest. Expect him to hit near .300 again with solid defense, but he may steal fewer bases if his legs don't fare as well.

The leg injuries he's been battling for years now finally stripped Castillo of his speed on the basepaths, but he still hit his usual .300 and played excellent defense at second base. Dealt to the Twins, he'll give Minnesota a legitimate top-of-the-order presence if he can hold up to the wear and tear of the Metrodome turf.

Castillo has been a very consistent player over the last six years. While his steals have dwindled, he'll been a safe bet to hit .290 or better, get on base at a solid rate, and score some runs. Still only 29, he's still probably got a couple of years left at that level -- just make sure you don't overpay for stolen bases that likely aren't coming back.

Coming off hip surgery at the end of 2002, Castillo's woeful stolen base percentage could be a warning flag that all is not right with him -- yet his defense was better than ever, and he set a career high in games played, hits and (for what it's worth) slugging percentage. The Marlins bet big that he'll be OK -- you might want to be a little more cautious.

For the third time in four years, Castillo hit better than .300, and he led the majors in steals in 2002. For all the talk of him being somewhat fragile, he's had at least 530 at bats three years running, and set a career high last year with 606. From a fantasy perspective there aren't many leadoff hitters better than Castillo, and even from a baseball perspective he gets on base enough (.364 career OBP) to warrant the spot.