Catcher Jason Castro has been shut down for the season, according to Jose de Jesus Ortiz.
Castro sprained his right knee - the one that he injured in the 2010 season - on September 2 and had a cyst drained off of it a couple of days later. He had attempted to come back for 2013, swinging in the batting cage on Saturday and saying on Sunday:
I'm not really concerned about it structurally. Everything is fine.
From that aspect of it, I'm not concerned, but it's tough because it's a
wait-and-see approach, and there's nothing more I can do other than
listen to what it's telling me and how it feels.
It makes absolutely no sense for him to play the last 12 games, so he'll finish an All-Star season at .276/.350/.485 with an OPS of .835 - 100 points better than his 2012 season.
Where Castro really excelled in 2013 was against LHPs. In 111 PAs against lefties, Castro hit .242/.324/.414 with 33K:12BB. Compare that to 2012 when he hit .148/.175/.185 in 57 PAs with 21K:2BB.
You can also look at his Home/Road splits. In 2012 Castro had a 137-point spread between MMP (.805 OPS) and the Road (.668 OPS). In 2013, Castro had a 135-point spread between MMP (.904) and the Road (.769 OPS).
So, good for Jason Castro. Break-out year, no structural damage to his knee...put that leg up, and we'll see you in March.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
