Some of you may remember the popular series we had last year called "Random, Random Astro." While that feature hasn't been completely forgotten, despite the multi-month hiatus, I'd like to introduce another "Random" series, the Random Trade Tree. In this series of sporadic posts, we'll trace the roster genealogy of a particular player through player trades.
Today, let's look at the offspring of catcher Ramon Castro. Before our own Carlos Correa, Castro was the highest drafted Puerto Rican player when he was selected 17th overall by Houston in 1994. Castro would toil away in the Houston farm system until July 4, 1998 when he was traded to Florida for reliever Jay Powell and minor league catcher Scott Makarewicz. Castro has gone on to spend 13 years as a major league backup catcher for the Marlins, Mets, and White Sox and is currently in spring training with the Dodgers. He has amassed 2.6 WAR over those 13 seasons.
Makarewicz was originally drafted by Houston in 1989, stayed in the Astros system until 1995, spend two seasons with the Tigers organization, then half a season with Florida before being traded back to Houston. 1998 was his last season in organized ball.
Jay Powell pitched out of the pen in Houston from the time of the trade until June 27, 2001 when he was traded to Colorado for swingman Ron Villone. Powell appeared in 160 games for Houston during that time putting up a 4.02 ERA (113 ERA+) while going 11-10 with 8 saves and 1.7 WAR. He pitched horribly during the Astros' 1998 and 1999 playoff runs, combining for an 8.44 ERA over 5.1 innings. He was last seen appearing in 5 games for Atlanta in 2005.
Ron Villone pitched a half season for Houston, appearing in 31 games (6 starts) going 5-7 with a 5.56 ERA (84 ERA+ and -0.8 WAR) and making one appearance in the 2001 NLDS, pitching .2 scoreless innings before becoming a free agent after the 2001 season. He would go on to pitch for a few more teams through the 2009 season, including another 19 starts for Houston in 2003.
In exchange for a major league backup catcher, Houston ended up with 240.1 major league innings with a 4.46 ERA and 0.9 WAR and 37 games from a minor league backup catcher.
So, Ramon Castro's family tree is as follows:
Ramon Castro
| |
Jay Powell Scott Makarewicz
|
Ron Villone
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
