Padres swap Lawrence for Castilla
11/04/2005
In a swap of veterans coming off substandard seasons, the Padres sent right-handed starter Brian Lawrence to the Nationals for third baseman Vinny Castilla.
Castilla, 38, batted .253 with 12 home runs, 36 doubles and 66 RBIs in 142 games with the Nationals in 2005. A two-time All-Star, he experienced his finest seasons in Colorado, leading the league in RBIs with 131 while hitting 35 homers for the Rockies as recently as 2004.
It should be of interest to Padres fans that 21 of those 35 homers in '04 were struck away from Coors Field, running contrary to the notion that he did all his damage at altitude. Castilla also has grown more patient at the plate with the advance of time.
Castilla is expected to take over a job that was handled by Joe Randa after he was acquired from the Reds in a midseason trade that cost San Diego two Minor League pitchers. Randa has filed for free agency, but Sean Burroughs -- who started at third for the Friars for almost three seasons before being demoted to Triple-A Portland last summer -- remains in the picture.
In detaching Castilla with one year remaining on his contract at $3 million, the Nationals create an opening for their superb young third baseman, Ryan Zimmerman.
"They wanted to open up room for Ryan, and that's good -- Ryan Zimmerman is a great player and great prospect," Castilla said. "The trade will work out for me, too. I'll be in San Diego with a team that made the playoffs this year."
Castilla should have tremendous appeal among the thousands of fans over the border in his native Mexico. He calls Oaxaca home.
Castilla will be embraced for his glove as much as for his bat. Always steady defensively and sometimes spectacular, he finished the 2005 season ranked second among all National League third basemen with a .970 fielding percentage, making only 11 errors in 362 total chances. Twice -- in 2002 with Atlanta and in 2004 with the Rockies -- Castilla led NL third basemen in fielding percentage.
Across 15 Major League seasons with Atlanta, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Houston and the Nationals, Castilla has a career batting average of .278, with 315 home runs, 339 doubles and 1,078 RBIs in 1,767 games.
His production was down in 2005, but RFK Stadium was a death valley for power hitters -- even more so for a right-handed hitter than Castilla's new home, PETCO Park.
The Padres hope that Castilla can take advantage of the relatively friendly left-field fences at PETCO, where most of the suffering has been experienced by left-handed batters.
Castilla owns two of the top-10 highest single-season RBI totals for a third baseman. He drove home 144 runs in 1998 -- second all-time for his position, and the highest ever by a National League third baseman. His 131 RBIs in 2004 represented the eighth-best total in history by a third baseman.
Castilla holds Major League records for most hits, home runs, RBIs, runs scored and doubles by a Mexican-born player.
Lawrence, 29, slumped to 7-15 with a 4.83 ERA in 33 starts for the Padres in 2005. He enjoyed his best month in June, when he went 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA, allowing two or fewer runs in four of his six starts.
In five seasons with the Padres, he was 49-61 with a 4.10 ERA in 162 games, including 146 starts.
"I think both sides benefited," said Lawrence, who shared a special bond with lockermates Jake Peavy, Adam Eaton and Scott Linebrink. "I'm excited to come to a new city and do the thing that I love -- and that's pitching.
"I feel that I have a lot of good years in front of me."
The Nationals are banking on Lawrence getting an emotional lift from a change of scenery, along with the vast dimensions of RFK Stadium. A sinkerball artist, he was hurt badly by the long ball in 2005 as he struggled with his command.
Selected in the 17th round of the June 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Lawrence is one of only eight pitchers in franchise history to toss 200 or more innings in three consecutive seasons -- 2002 to 2004. He ranks among the Padres' all-time leaders in wins (11th), innings pitched (ninth), strikeouts (12th, with 579) and games started.
Source: http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/
In a swap of veterans coming off substandard seasons, the Padres sent right-handed starter Brian Lawrence to the Nationals for third baseman Vinny Castilla.
Castilla, 38, batted .253 with 12 home runs, 36 doubles and 66 RBIs in 142 games with the Nationals in 2005. A two-time All-Star, he experienced his finest seasons in Colorado, leading the league in RBIs with 131 while hitting 35 homers for the Rockies as recently as 2004.
It should be of interest to Padres fans that 21 of those 35 homers in '04 were struck away from Coors Field, running contrary to the notion that he did all his damage at altitude. Castilla also has grown more patient at the plate with the advance of time.
Castilla is expected to take over a job that was handled by Joe Randa after he was acquired from the Reds in a midseason trade that cost San Diego two Minor League pitchers. Randa has filed for free agency, but Sean Burroughs -- who started at third for the Friars for almost three seasons before being demoted to Triple-A Portland last summer -- remains in the picture.
In detaching Castilla with one year remaining on his contract at $3 million, the Nationals create an opening for their superb young third baseman, Ryan Zimmerman.
"They wanted to open up room for Ryan, and that's good -- Ryan Zimmerman is a great player and great prospect," Castilla said. "The trade will work out for me, too. I'll be in San Diego with a team that made the playoffs this year."
Castilla should have tremendous appeal among the thousands of fans over the border in his native Mexico. He calls Oaxaca home.
Castilla will be embraced for his glove as much as for his bat. Always steady defensively and sometimes spectacular, he finished the 2005 season ranked second among all National League third basemen with a .970 fielding percentage, making only 11 errors in 362 total chances. Twice -- in 2002 with Atlanta and in 2004 with the Rockies -- Castilla led NL third basemen in fielding percentage.
Across 15 Major League seasons with Atlanta, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Houston and the Nationals, Castilla has a career batting average of .278, with 315 home runs, 339 doubles and 1,078 RBIs in 1,767 games.
His production was down in 2005, but RFK Stadium was a death valley for power hitters -- even more so for a right-handed hitter than Castilla's new home, PETCO Park.
The Padres hope that Castilla can take advantage of the relatively friendly left-field fences at PETCO, where most of the suffering has been experienced by left-handed batters.
Castilla owns two of the top-10 highest single-season RBI totals for a third baseman. He drove home 144 runs in 1998 -- second all-time for his position, and the highest ever by a National League third baseman. His 131 RBIs in 2004 represented the eighth-best total in history by a third baseman.
Castilla holds Major League records for most hits, home runs, RBIs, runs scored and doubles by a Mexican-born player.
Lawrence, 29, slumped to 7-15 with a 4.83 ERA in 33 starts for the Padres in 2005. He enjoyed his best month in June, when he went 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA, allowing two or fewer runs in four of his six starts.
In five seasons with the Padres, he was 49-61 with a 4.10 ERA in 162 games, including 146 starts.
"I think both sides benefited," said Lawrence, who shared a special bond with lockermates Jake Peavy, Adam Eaton and Scott Linebrink. "I'm excited to come to a new city and do the thing that I love -- and that's pitching.
"I feel that I have a lot of good years in front of me."
The Nationals are banking on Lawrence getting an emotional lift from a change of scenery, along with the vast dimensions of RFK Stadium. A sinkerball artist, he was hurt badly by the long ball in 2005 as he struggled with his command.
Selected in the 17th round of the June 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Lawrence is one of only eight pitchers in franchise history to toss 200 or more innings in three consecutive seasons -- 2002 to 2004. He ranks among the Padres' all-time leaders in wins (11th), innings pitched (ninth), strikeouts (12th, with 579) and games started.
Source: http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/
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