If the Mets manage to trade Luis Castillo and bring in Orlando Hudson to play second base, it will happen one of two ways. In both ways, it looks like the Mets get screwed.
Way 1: The Mets trade Castillo first, then attempt to sign Hudson.
Why it’s bad: Tons of reports say that Hudson “wants to be a Met,” but it all comes down to money. If the Mets dump Castillo somewhere, this gives Hudson the upper hand. He, and his agent, can sit back and wait for the Mets to name a price they like.
And they can wait as long as possible. The Mets would be without a player at second and Hudson, being the player they want, can name his demands. The team will have to hope no one swoops in and pays him what he wants, leaving the Mets out in the cold without a second baseman.
Way 2: The Mets sign Hudson first, then attempt to trade Castillo.
Why it’s bad: Instead of one player holding all the cards, every other MLB team would have it all stacked in their favor in this scenario. If the Mets bring on Hudson without moving Castillo, they then have two second basemen, both of which are being paid quite handsomely.
If Hudson signs first, the Mets would then have to eat a huge part of Castillo’s contract to move him (if they didn’t have to already). The other teams in the league would obviously see this logjam and will wait and wait and wait until they’re getting Castillo at a major bargain.
Either way, it looks like the Mets will be stuck between a rock and a hard place if they try and get this done.