BALTIMORE – Third baseman Vinny Castilla, frustrated over being benched after a poor start, has asked the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to either trade him or release him.

	Castilla

"I just want to get out of here. They don't play me anymore," Castilla said Monday night. "If they don't want me here, then I don't want to be here, either."

Hitless in his last 18 at-bats, Castilla is batting .206 with a homer and six RBI. He has not played in the last four games after starting the first nine.

"Everybody struggles in April, even some of the best hitters in the game. It's not how you start, it's how you finish," he said. "They already told me I can't help them win, so I don't know what I'm doing here."

Castilla is only one of several Devil Rays who has struggled at the plate this season. The team has a .224 batting average and is in last place in the AL East with a 4-9 record.

His replacement at third base, rookie Aubrey Huff, is hitting .143.

Castilla, who starred in the 1990s with Colorado before coming to Tampa Bay last season, feels he's been made the scapegoat for the Devil Rays' poor start.

"I feel like when you go to someone's house and they don't want you there," he said. "That's how I feel every time I come to the ballpark."

Despite Castilla's request, Tampa Bay general manager Chuck LaMar has said the team isn't looking to deal the disgruntled player, who last year was on the disabled list three times and hit .221 in only 85 games.

"I wasn't healthy all year, but I busted my butt all winter to get ready for this season," he said. "I started the season good, then I struggled for three games and they shut me down. I don't think that's fair."

Castilla is making $7 million a season, so it's unlikely the Devil Rays will release him. But one way or another, Castilla wants out.

"I can't control what they do," he said, "but I just don't want to be here anymore."