The Boston Red Sox have beaten out 28 Major League teams and landed the prized Cuban outfield sensation Rusney Castillo. MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez and Ian Browne report that the Red Sox and Castillo have agreed to a six-year, $72.5 million contract that will keep Castillo in Fenway Park through 2020.
Red Sox finalizing deal with Cuban star Castillo http://t.co/gdxja3OGs6
— Ian Browne (@IanMBrowne) August 22, 2014
In addition, WEEI discussed the signing as the news broke. The tweet contains a link to the recorded audio discussion of the signing from the August 22 broadcast of the Tim and Christian show.
AUDIO: Rusney Castillo is the newest member of the Red Sox 8-22-14 http://t.co/ZutjrKOiKa — WEEI (@WEEI) August 22, 2014
The contract breaks the record for amateur players that the Chicago White Sox set with current rookie Jose Abreu, who signed for six years and $68 million.
On Tuesday, August 19, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington discussed the possibility of signing Castillo but did not state at that time that he would complete a deal. Sanchez and Browne quoted Cherington as saying,
“There’s obviously been attention on this. He’s a player that we’ve seen and have talked to, but we’re just one of several teams that have done that. There’s nothing more I can say than that. I’m not going to get into our evaluation [of Castillo] in public. Again, we’ve seen him, we’ve talked to him and we’re one of several teams that have done that. There’s not really anything else I can say.”
WEEI’s Alex Speier reminds us that Castillo was a teammate of now Red Sox teammate Yoenis Cespedes while both played for the Tigres Ciego de Avila of the Cuban National Series. Speier quoted Cespedes describing Castillo’s talent and comparing it to that of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig. Said Cespedes,
“If he’s not a five-tool player, he’s a least a four-tool player. He’s very comparable to Puig. Obviously a different height and size, but very similar qualities.”
That is high praise coming from a fellow Cuban star-turned-Major-Leaguer himself.
With the Red Sox in last place in the American League East just one year after winning the World Series, Cherington began the “fire sale” before the July 31 trade deadline. Gone are Jon Lester, Andrew Miller, Jonny Gomes, Jake Peavy, Felix Doubront, John Lackey, and Stephen Drew. In came Cespedes, Allen Craig, Kelly Johnson, Joe Kelley, and now Castillo. With these moves, Cherington has shown that he will rebuild the team — but not with only prospects. He has gotten back proven Major-League talent, and he will soon add Castillo’s power. According to Baseball-Reference, Castillo hit 18 home runs and drove in 79 runs while scoring 75 times in 88 games in 2011 at age 24.
Castillo brings speed, power, average, defense, and a strong arm to the Red Sox — the five tools that Cespedes described. At this time, though, it is unclear if the 27-year-old outfielder will get a chance to showcase himself in 2014. The Minor League season has only two weeks left, and since Castillo has not played competitive baseball since 2013, even the September roster expansion may not have room for him. His best bet may be the Arizona Fall League and then Spring Training next February. Still, Red Sox fans may want to see a glimpse of him in September. Why not? With Boston most likely to finish last, what could it hurt to give Castillo some at bats when the rosters expand?
PHOTO CREDIT: Juan Moreno, Juventud Rebel De.co.cu
