Mar 24, 2007 3 min read

BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) – Jose Bautista was chosen Friday as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting third baseman, a move that sends three-year starting infielder Jose Castillo to the bench and means NL batting champion Freddy Sanchez will open the season at second base. Pirates manager Jim Tracy, frustrated that Castillo hasn’t responded to his repeated requests to become more disciplined at the plate and mentally involved in the game defensively, said it is up to Castillo how long he remains on the bench.

“We want these players with the Pittsburgh Pirates to understand that mediocrity is not what we’re striving for here,” Tracy said. “We’re not looking for that. We want a lot more than that.”

Because the 26-year-old Castillo hasn’t responded to the Pirates’ pleadings to change his approach, Tracy said, “the message had to be changed.”

Castillo, who jumped from Double-A into the Pirates’ lineup as a rookie in 2004, also was criticized in the offseason by shortstop Jack Wilson for not staying in shape and being lazy in the field. Castillo reported to spring training about 10-15 pounds lighter than he was last season, but Tracy said he hasn’t seen enough progress in Castillo’s approach or his play.

“I sat and talked to him for quite a while,” Tracy said. “We mentioned plate discipline, being in tune to the game for every pitch that gets thrown – all of those things are very, very important for this player to return to being what he was a few years ago. I’ve seen little tiny spurts of it off and on, but I’ve not seen it on any consistent basis.

“The understanding has to be that, because of where we are headed as a ballclub, that had better be important, day in and day out, not every once in a while.”

Castillo didn’t show much discipline Friday, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in a 3-2 decision against the Yankees. During one at-bat, he flailed wildly at three pitches, swinging and missing on a pitch well out of the strike zone on the third.

Castillo didn’t appear upset by the news and declined to criticize the team.

“I’m ready for everything. I don’t care the position I play, I ready 100 percent to play,” Castillo said. “I’m waiting for a decision by the Pirates, I’ll play every day or I’ll play sometimes.”

Still, Tracy said it would be easy for Castillo to get his job back – play better.

“Performance is everything,” Tracy said. “You have to make sure the person that you’re talking to hears it loud and clear, and that there’s a serious intimation to what’s being said. You’re hopeful that at some point and time he realizes that.”

As of now, Tracy said, Castillo is not “one of the eight guys who should be on the field.”

Spring training performance apparently did not weigh heavily into the decision; Castillo has a higher batting average than Bautista, .256 to .250, but Bautista has more RBIs, 8 to 3.

Bautista, also 26, hit .235 with 16 homers and 51 RBIs last season while playing second and third base and all three outfield positions. He is a former Rule 5 draft pick. Castillo hit .256 as a rookie, .268 in 2005 and .253 with 14 homers and 65 RBIs last season, when he hit .091 in his last 16 games and had only three homers after June 15.

Sanchez, last year’s National League batting champion with a .344 average, was moved from third to second when spring training started but hasn’t played since March 6 because of an injured knee ligament. He is taking batting practice and fielding ground balls, but is not yet ready to play.