Brad

Emaus

Emaus was acquired by the Red Sox in January, but he was evidently released between now and then and has hooked back on with the Mets, who had Emaus for a few weeks last year after taking him in the Rule 5 draft. He could be an option to fill in for the injured Ronny Cedeno.

Emaus, 25, posted a promising .313/.389/.564 batting line with nine home runs and 28 RBI in 45 games last season at Triple-A Colorado Springs. He’ll function as organizational infield depth this year for Boston.

Emaus just might force his way to the majors this year. He was one of the Jays’ best players this spring, and he’s 6-for-8 with four doubles and seven RBI after two games for New Hampshire. Toronto still needs to find a position for him, but it’s starting to look like he’ll have the bat to last at third if that’s the direction the team wants to go.

Emaus made it hard on the Jays by hitting .410/.489/.513 this spring, but he got sent down on his birthday because he’s stuck behind Aaron Hill on the depth chart and could improve upon his .253/.336/.376 showing at double-A last year, too. He’s still an intriguing prospect as an infielder with power and speed, and if he performs well in the minor leagues this year, he’ll be in the majors before long.

Emaus figured to be cut by now, but he’s hit .344/.417/.750 in 32 at-bats to force the Jays to keep him around. He’s still not a threat to make the team, but he might be the third baseman of the future.

This is a nice get for the Mets. Emaus, who turns 25 in March, batted .290/.397/.476 with 15 homers, 75 RBI and 13 stolen bases between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Las Vegas this past season. With second base in flux in Queens, he could surprise during spring training.

According to Harper, Castillo has annoyed Collins by “moping” around the clubhouse in “apparent protest” of having to compete for the second base job. Collins apparently wasn’t thrilled when Castillo skipped taking pre-game ground balls at second base when he was in the lineup as the DH last week. Collins recently promised to give Castillo more playing time, likely as a motivator, which would explain why Brad Emaus has had only limited looks at the position. As of right now, no one player has stepped forward as the favorite to win the job.

Emaus took over at second base after Luis Castillo went 1-for-2. Those two are competing with Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner for the starting job this spring. It certainly won’t hurt Emaus’ case for a roster spot that he’ll have to be offered back to the Blue Jays if he doesn’t make the team.

Music to every Mets fan’s ear. In fact, Burkhardt writes that if Opening Day was tomorrow, Castillo would be the starter. Brad Emaus and Daniel Murphy will be given every opportunity to take the job away from Castillo during spring training, but keep in mind that neither has ever played a game at second base in the major leagues. For all the flak that Castillo takes from Mets fans, he can still field the position well and at least knows how to take a walk. A lot could change over the next few weeks, but Castillo has a better chance of sticking around than Oliver Perez, a player who he is often lumped in with.

Collins won’t have the ultimate say, but most members of the organization would probably be thrilled if one of the other candidates unseats Castillo from the job. That hasn’t happened yet. It’s worth noting that Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus has a backer in assistant general manager J.P. Ricciardi, so he may have some extra rope here.