By releasing Luis Castillo last week and optioning Justin Turner to Triple-A this morning the Mets have cleared the way for Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus to be their Opening Day starter at second base.
Luis Hernandez and Daniel Murphy now stand as his only competition, but Hernandez is no one’s idea of an everyday player and Murphy is expected to be used off the bench, with Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com both reporting that Emaus is a near-lock for the job.
Or as Turner put it after being told he was headed to Triple-A: “I’m sure Brad is feeling pretty good about himself right now.”
Selected from the Blue Jays with the 11th pick in the Rule 5 draft back in December, the 25-year-old Emaus hit .290 with a .397 on-base percentage and .476 slugging percentage in 125 games between Double-A and Triple-A last season, drawing more walks (81) than strikeouts (69), swiping 13 bases, and homering 15 times.
