Twins say they aren't giving up despite trading Castillo to Mets

The deal that sent Twins second baseman Luis Castillo to the New York Mets for two prospects on Monday has the signs of a white flag trade.

The capable leadoff hitter was dealt for two minor leaguers despite the Twins entering the day 6½ games back in the AL wild-card race and seven back in the AL Central with more than two months to play.

But Twins General Manager Terry Ryan argued against that, saying he expects the club to keep pushing for a playoff spot. "We're not giving up at all," Ryan said.

Ryan added: "We're 6½ games back. We're better than what we were a week ago, and if we didn't think that we could absorb things I certainly would not have done this.

"I know the perception when you give up a veteran player in late July that it may not look good. I still think we could absorb this."

Castillo, batting .302 with a .356 on-base percentage, was dealt for Class AA catcher Drew Butera, son of former Twins catcher Sal Butera, and Class A outfielder Dustin Martin. The club has called up Alexi Casilla to share second base duties with Nick Punto. The Mets will pay Castillo's remaining salary, which is around $2 million.

While the Twins claim they aren't conceding the season with this move, it is a concession to the business side of baseball. Ryan admitted he wasn't going to re-sign Castillo, a free agent at the end of the season. Castillo, at best, would qualify as a Type B (one draft pick as compensation instead of two for a Type A), which came under some consideration.

Ryan took what he could, hoping that the loss in table-setting will be offset some by the increase in speed and range Casilla brings.

"In essence, it comes down to: Do we have anybody in the system we can bring in to replace him?" Ryan said. "And we feel like we do with Casilla and Punto."

Ryan will continue to man the phones and said there's always a chance he will be active before today's 3 p.m. deadline for trades without waivers.

"He's already talking about other players," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said after Monday's 3-1 victory over Kansas City. "Going and taking a look at them. Another bat. So he's not dumping. He's re-arranging maybe, and trying to find somebody who might help us."

Several teams, including Colorado and the Los Angeles Dod- gers, have shown various levels of interest in reliever Juan Rincon. Indications are that Rincon is not being actively shopped because the club wants to keep a strong bullpen to back up a rotation with three developing starters in Scott Baker, Boof Bonser and Matt Garza. They also believe that they can get Rincon, 3-1 with a 5.89 ERA, back to old form. So the price for him would be high.

Righthander Carlos Silva had drawn interest recently from Atlanta, Arizona and the Chicago Cubs. There were also some discussions with the Mets, who would have put him in the bullpen. But there might not be that strong of a market for him. Silva, a free agent after the season, would like to re-sign with the Twins.

Castillo, 31, was pulled off the field during batting practice, and the lineup card was taken down at 5:19 p.m., when he was informed of the trade. Several players were visibly upset and Castillo's eyes watered up as he talked about not wanting to be traded.

"That's a little surprise for me, because the team this year, I think we're still in the race," Castillo said. "I've seen this team come back from 10 games before, and we're 6 ½ games [back], and I think we can turn it around. That's why I'm surprised. They had to make a decision."

Drew Butera, 23, is projected to be a good defensive catcher. He batted .258 in 52 games this year for Class A Port St. Lucie before being promoted to Class AA Binghamton, where he batted .188 in 30 games. He will be assigned to Class AA New Britain.

Martin, 23, has good size (6-2, 210 pounds) and is athletic but is still developing power. He batted .287 with five homers and 52 RBI in 93 games for Port St. Lucie. He will be assigned to Class A Fort Myers.

"I think we gave up two kids that definitely have a chance to play in the major leagues, and that we like, but we did so to address a need at the major league level," said Mets GM Omar Minaya, who was seeking a second baseman after Jose Valentin broke his leg July 20. "Terry Ryan and his group have a tremendous track record with developing Class A and Double-A players."

Staff writer Joe Christensen contributed to this report.

La Velle E. Neal III • lneal@startribune.com