2/14/09

Castillo to bat leadoff?

Jerry Manuel made a pretty significant comment today, but it was buried at the end of this story.

Via Mets.com:
Changes to the lineup could also be in store for the Mets, as manager Jerry Manuel is considering batting Luis Castillo in the leadoff spot and bumping Jose Reyes down to third in the lineup.
More, from Adam Rubin:
Luis Castillo may bat leadoff for the Mets. Potentially, Carlos Beltran could bat second and Jose Reyes third. It may make more sense to bat Carlos Delgado fourth and David Wright fifth in that scenario, since otherwise the Mets would be stacking a ton of lefties at the bottom of the order.
Interesting. Both Reyes and Castillo have similar OBP numbers, with Reyes putting up a .358 last year and Castillo notching a .355. Reyes' power may suit him better later in the lineup, where runner may be on ahead of him.

If Reyes moves to third, I'm assuming that bumps Carlos Beltran up to the second spot of the order, where he seems to enjoy hitting. That, or bump him lower in the order so the bottom of the lineup won't be as weak.

I think it's an interesting scenario to toy with in spring training.