RYAN HAS HIS REASONS FOR CASTILLO DEAL

Twins general manager Terry Ryan has been vilified by fans and media for making the deadline trade that sent his steady second baseman Luis Castillo to the New York Mets for minor league catcher Drew Butera and outfielder Dustin Martin.

On the surface, it appears Ryan’s actions indicate that he has lost all hope of the team making another late-season dash to the postseason. Naturally, he claims that isn’t true. He says he has the ultimate faith in Castillo’s replacement – Alexi Casilla – which Rock Cats fans learned last year is well-deserved. Perhaps he’ll be right.

The bloggers are bashing away. Franchise cornerstone Johan Santana, probably speaking out of anger because he’s lost a friend in Castillo, says he doesn’t belong on a team that is unwilling to upgrade itself for a postseason run. Every fan in Major Market City is having an orgasmic vision of Santana in their uniform, like they do with every superstar that Small Market-ville can’t afford to sign.

Well, we don’t know what the future holds, and most bloggers can’t even make an educated guess, but there are other things we don’t know.

For instance, what kind of financial line does Ryan have to toe when he charts the Twins’ future with the Pohlad family and team president David St. Peter? I don’t know, and never will unless I can become that proverbial fly on the wall. Santana isn’t apt to know. Bloggers surely don’t know, so what sense does it make to belittle Ryan?

What we do know is that Ryan’s track record has gained him respect throughout the industry. Peers regard him as an administrator who has treated Twin Cities faithful to a competitive team without the blank-check mentality that some owners can enlist.

Here’s what else we should know before we disparage.

Let’s assume Ryan didn’t push the button and retained Castillo for the remainder of the season. If Castillo ranks as a Type A free agent, the Twins would receive a first-round pick in the June 2008 draft from the team that ultimately signs him. They would also receive a supplemental first-round choice – or sandwich pick – after the completion of the first round.

Ponder this. If the Twins cannot, or would not, come up with the cash to keep Castillo, will they be able to sign an extra high-priced first-round pick (for a Type B free agent), or possibly two?

Getting two prospects for a lame-duck player, no matter how good he is, benefits the Twins more than unmanageable draft-day expense, or coming away with nothing.

Getting to the two ex-Mets, Butera is a catcher who fulfills the Twins’ need in high Class A. Caleb Moore, a catcher with the Fort Myers Miracle, reportedly has expressed interest in becoming a pitcher. That left Fort Myers short at that vital position, so Butera’s arrival in New Britain and the demotion of Korey Feiner to the Miracle fills the slot.

Martin ranks as a decent outfield prospect. The left-handed hitter was a New York-Penn League All-Star for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2006, when he batted .312 with two homers and 35 RBI in 72 games. He was hitting .287-5-52 for the high-A St. Lucie Mets prior to the trade.

Will either Butera or Martin be major leaguers? Will Santana still be bitter and shun the Twins when he qualifies for free agency after the 2008 season? Those are two of the many questions that can only be answered over time. What we do know in the here and now is that Terry Ryan is one of the best general managers in baseball, and Twins fans should trust him for doing the best he can with what he has.

If they want something to blame, they should blame the system. A system that provides advantages to the affluent and shuns the grassroots deserves their scorn.