Schneider back Saturday, Castro being shopped

The Mets announced that catcher Brian Schneider will be activated off the disabled-list tomorrow. This puts the Mets in a very tough place, being that Ramon Castro and Omir Santos (especially) have been playing great in his absence.

According to Adam Rubin of the Daily News, the Mets are shopping around Castro. Rubin says that "If Castro can't be traded by Saturday's game when Brian Schneider is activated, the Mets are not prepared to eat his $2.5 million salary." This means that either the Mets will send down Santos, or they will carry 3 catchers, and get rid of one pitcher. Sending down Santos is highly unlikely considering how well he has been playing since he was called up.

If the Mets were to go with 3 catchers, I think the odd man out would be either Ken Takahashi or Sean Green. I would think the Mets would want to keep Takahashi (who is barely used) because they want two lefties in the 'pen. The most logical candidate would be Green, who does have minor league options.

Honestly, I would rather see Schneider go than Castro. I like Castro's bat much more, and I think that he gives more versatility to the team. Schneider is a great defensive catcher, but is almost an automatic out at the plate. If I were GM, Schneider would either not be activated for a while, released, or traded.

These stats speak for themselves:

Omir Santos: Avg: .268 HR 2 RBI 15 RUNS 10
Ramon Castro: Avg: .253 HR 3 RBI 13 RUNS 5

You'd have to be out of your mind to say that Brian Schneider would be producing those numbers right now, who hit .257 with 9 homers and 38 RBI's. (9 HR's is a lot for him in one year, actually.)