Diamondbacks Are Winning the Castillo-Trumbo Deal
By Thomas Lynch
Jun 25, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Welington Castillo (7) hits an RBI single in the sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
The Arizona Diamondbacks are taking a beating off the field this week. The specter of the team not being able to reach .500 in 11 opportunities will be more scrutinized each time they get within a game of that number. There is also the continuing fallout regarding the trade of Touki Toussaint, which we at venomstrikes discussed in a roundtable post. It has easily been the most controversial trade that the regime of Tony LaRussa and Dave Stewart have made and the consensus is the D’backs were hosed. So how about we talk about a deal also made in June that has been an absolute steal for Arizona. This transaction should be discussed just as much as the one they are getting clobbered for.
The Snakes have a big upper hand in the Welington Castillo for Mark Trumbo trade.
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The numbers are not even close. Trumbo is batting .159 with an on-base percentage of .172 for Seattle in 64 plate appearances. There is no power with only one home and five RBI’s. Meanwhile, Castillo is at .275/.375 with three home runs and eight RBI’s in 45 plate appearances. Just as important, Castillo has been outstanding behind the plate. Just look at Rubby De La Rosa‘s last three starts with Castillo as the catcher. He has thrown 23 innings and has allowed only two earned runs. As a matter of fact, it’s not just De La Rosa that excels with Castillo calling the signals. In his 12 starts, the rotation has allowed a total of 37 earned runs, or a little over 3 per game. It is a big reason why the D’backs are only four games out of first place at this point in the season considering they were the worst team in baseball last year.
As for the Mariners, they sit in the basement of the American League West at 33-40. They were supposed to be a playoff contender this year. At what point does the media start zeroing in on Seattle’s front office for some of the moves that have contributed to their disappointing season? I get the criticism of the Toussaint. But enough is enough. Start focusing on the deals that have made Arizona relevant instead of killing them for the “bad” one.