Free Ramon Castro?

I just came back from dim sum and imagine my surprise when I read this.

Seemingly contradicting the family-oriented atmosphere at Shea the Mets had been promoting last season, the team quietly has signed troubled former Florida catcher Ramon Castro to a minor-league contract, a major-league source said.

The off-the-field thing aside, I think this is a pretty good move by Omar. Castro is no Pudge, but he is an excellent defensive catcher who hit for very good power in the minors. Hailed as the Marlins' catcher of the future by BP, Castro has struggled to show much at the major league level, but his trackrecord suggests he's capable of being an above average offensive catcher

AAA - 957 AB 307/359/563
AA- 256 AB 256/318/418
A - 1068 AB 267/333/391
R - 123 AB 276/373/407

Pretty good for a catcher. At best, Castro is in line to become Piazza's successor next year, and at worst it costs the Mets nothing but lunch money. Considering that Matheny and Blanco got guaranteed millions, this is an excellent signing. Good job, Omar.