An ailing Luis Castillo was in too much pain to play the eighth inning yesterday.
Castillo left the Mets’ 5-4, 11-inning victory over the Giants at Citi Field after seven innings because of a bone bruise to his left heel. The second baseman is listed as day-to-day, but Castillo was not available to speak after the game, so it is uncertain how he is feeling or how bad his injury might be.
“I probably won’t play him [today],” manager Jerry Manuel said.
Whether Castillo will be fine after just a one-day break, though, is questionable. He is a brittle player to begin with, and a Mets spokesman relayed that Castillo’s foot had been bothering him prior to yesterday’s game, so it wasn’t a specific play that forced him to leave the game. That means Castillo might need some time off, since the bone bruise has become intolerable.
Castillo took the field for warm-ups before the top of the eighth inning, but wound up leaving before the inning began.
Manuel said Castillo was “very sore” at that point.
For what it’s worth, Carlos Beltran’s knee injury last year, which eventually required offseason surgery, was also a bone bruise.
Alex Cora replaced Castillo at second base and would likely see the bulk of the playing time there if Castillo is out for a bit. If Castillo goes on the disabled list, the Mets would recall Ruben Tejada from Triple-A Buffalo. Tejada began the year with the Mets and was on the major league roster until April 10, when he went back to the minors upon Jose Reyes’ return to the Amazin’s lineup.
The 20-year-old Tejada went 1-for-6 in three games before being sent down. Entering yesterday, he was batting .262 with a homer, five RBIs and just a .308 on-base percentage at Buffalo.
Castillo, who is hitting .262 with a .360 on-base percentage but only two extra-base hits, went 1-for-3 with a walk during yesterday’s game, and in his last at-bat in the seventh, he singled to left. It’s possible he aggravated the heel either on that swing or while running to first.