BRADENTON, Fla. — Jose Castillo is not yet in top form, but the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman has to consider himself lucky when considering what might have been.

Castillo tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee when he was hit by a hard slide from the St. Louis Cardinals' Hector Luna on Aug. 22. His season was over.

But Castillo found out two days later he would not need surgery, he spent the winter shuttling from his native Venezuela to Pittsburgh for rehabilitation, and he is out on the fields of the Pirates' spring training complex on pace to be ready for the season.

"I'm very happy everything is OK," Castillo said. "I'm ready to go with everything, very excited about it."

Pittsburgh's position players were required to report Tuesday, but Castillo showed up Sunday to have his knee examined. Doctors gave him clearance to participate in all baseball-related activity.

He took batting practice shortly after that and made his first appearance on the field Monday. He looked shaky initially but soon settled and finished his session with an acrobatic play ranging to his right, well beyond second base.

Castillo has looked far smoother the rest of the week, but he still might lag behind for a while because he is not prime physical shape, the result of a winter spent focusing on rehabilitating his knee.

Only 25, Castillo enters his third full season as Pittsburgh's second baseman, and the organization has high expectations, especially for what some see as untapped power. But he'll have to stay healthier than in the past to meet those.

Castillo batted .268 with 11 home runs and 53 RBI, but he was limited by injury to 99 starts.

"If he continues to work on the hitting, the power will be there," general manager Dave Littlefield said.

In that vein, manager Jim Tracy likened him to another player he once had with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Do I see characteristics at this point in time in this young man's career that are similar to an Adrian Beltre? Yes, I do," Tracy said. "He has a lot of the same attributes."

Castillo described 2006 as "a big year for me," in large part because the Pirates have made upgrades aimed at ending a 13-year losing streak. He praised the team, in particular, for its acquisitions of first baseman Sean Casey and third baseman Joe Randa, who will join him and Jack Wilson in the infield.

"It should be a great infield," Castillo said. "Those new guys make us even better."

Notes:

In Pittsburgh's two-hour workout Thursday, reliever Damaso Marte took the mound for the first time in four days. The flu had kept him from pitching. ... He was one of 13 pitchers to take the mound, including an extended session for starter Paul Maholm. ... Tracy said the Pirates will take their first live batting practice today.