Over the Monster - Red Sox sign Rusney Castillo for record $72.5 millionBut Can He Pitch?https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/32934/otm-fv.jpg2014-08-28T12:41:05-04:00http://www.overthemonster.com/rss/stream/58208822014-08-28T12:41:05-04:002014-08-28T12:41:05-04:00Rusney Castillo's Red Sox debut up in the air
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<figcaption>Please start playing so we can get more pictures of you, Rusney! | Dennis Grombkowski</figcaption>
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<p>Rusney Castillo is all clear to play for the Red Sox, but the team seems more likely to delay his debut.</p> <p>The Red Sox finally have Rusney Castillo's paperwork all settled, but<a href="http://bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox_mlb/clubhouse_insider/2014/08/rusney_castillo_working_out_but_no_decision_on_when"> according to Scott Lauber</a>, that doesn't necessarily mean it's time for his major league debut. In fact, pretty much everything about Castillo's transition to Major League Baseball is up in the air.</p>
<p>Unlike the Tigers and Giants--the two other "finalists" for Castillo's services--the Red Sox are not in a position where they have to rush the decision in order to get Castillo involved in the playoff push. They can take their time and choose their spot for Castillo's debut and everything that leads up to it, and seem to be doing just that. According to Lauber, the team is even content to keep Castillo working out for a few more days before being assigned to a team.</p>
<p>Whether that means a stint in Pawtucket, or Portland, or even with the Gulf Coast team playing down in Fort Myers, where Castillo is currently stationed, is anyone's guess. The minor league season will soon come to an end, but almost every team in Boston's farm system is headed to the postseason, giving the Red Sox plenty of options with how quickly to ramp up in-game activity for Castillo, who has not actually played baseball since 2012.</p>
<p>What's not in question is that Castillo is very much a starting outfielder on the 2015 Boston Red Sox. Chances are, he'll even spend some time in that role in 2014. Whether the Red Sox choose to start him at the bottom and have him work his way up to the top level-by-level as they do with some rehab assignments or just dump him in Pawtucket and then call him up for the last couple weeks of the regular season remains to be seen, but eventually Boston will be the only place left going, and the Sox won't let him sit idle.</p>
<p>After that? Lauber indicates that winter ball is very much a possibility for Castillo, to keep him from coming into spring training still feeling the full two-year gap.</p>
<p>It may still be a few weeks before we get to see Rusney Castillo playing in a Red Sox uniform, but at least now it's just a matter of when.</p>
https://www.overthemonster.com/2014/8/28/6078861/rusney-castillos-red-sox-debut-up-in-the-airBen Buchanan2014-08-28T08:49:22-04:002014-08-28T08:49:22-04:00Castillo comes to US, goes to Beyonce/Jay Z show
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<p>Welcome to the US, Rusney. You already seem to have things well in hand.</p> <p>Rusney Castillo signed with the Red Sox before establishing residence in the United States or obtaining a work visa, so his first night in America was Wednesday night. He got his work visa, so he can now play baseball for the Sox' organization, but that's not the most important news from <a href="http://tmi.me/1eHifz" target="_blank">ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes</a>: no, that would be his reporting that Castillo spent his first night in the US attending a Beyonce and Jay Z concert in Miami.</p>
<p>Castillo, of course, is represented by Jay Z's Roc Nation agency, so it's not altogether surprising that this would be one of his first activities stateside. Plus, it's only right that a ballplayer of Castillo's caliber meets royalty upon entering the nation he'll be working in. Sure, America abolished the monarchy back in the late 18th-century, but only because George Washington never had to try to dethrone Beyonce.</p>
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<p>Castillo is expected to join the Red Sox at some point in September, possibly spending his time initially with the PawSox while they're in the International League playoffs so he can shake off some of the rust that being suspended from baseball and then escaping your home country can bring on.</p>
https://www.overthemonster.com/2014/8/28/6077949/rusney-castillo-beyonce-jay-z-red-sox-cuban-free-agentMarc Normandin2014-08-22T11:51:14-04:002014-08-22T11:51:14-04:00After signing Castillo, what next for the Red Sox?
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<figcaption>Dennis Grombkowski</figcaption>
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<p>The outfield is suddenly full, but that could just open new options for the Sox.</p> <p>The Red Sox finally acquired the international target they've been hoping to get for years, and did so in the form of Cuban-born Rusney Castillo. The outfielder (who has played some infield in his career) reportedly signed the largest contract ever for a Cuban free agent, though, that's not surprising given that every contract handed out to a Cuban position player these days is the largest ever.</p>
<p>While Castillo has experience at second and third base, it's very likely the Red Sox will use him in the outfield. Even without Castillo on board, Boston's outfield picture was already confusing: they have Shane Victorino, Yoenis Cespedes, Allen Craig, and Daniel Nava, as well as rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. and the top prospect in the system -- and one of the better ones in the game -- Mookie Betts all available for an outfield spot. That's just slightly more names than there are places to play, but there is more to it than just having a whole lot of outfielders.</p>
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<p>A plan where Shane Victorino is expected to play every day in 2015 is a bad plan. The outfielder has missed significant time over the last two years with injuries, and underwent back surgery earlier this summer. He certainly <i>could</i> play all the time in 2015, but it's much more likely that he's going to end up with a few hundred plate appearances and maybe a couple of stints on the disabled list breaking them up. At the least, that should be the expectation. Allen Craig could be a huge piece of the offense going forward for the Red Sox, but he's got his own injury concerns, and has never played more than 134 games in a season. If he hits, he'll likely be the team's first baseman in 2016, once Mike Napoli is a free agent. If he doesn't hit, well, he's not much of a factor in the Red Sox outfield, is he?</p>
<p><a href="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4914948/130205227.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="130205227" class="photo" src="http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/assets/4914948/130205227.jpg"></a> <br id="1408721982462"><font size="1"><em>Photo credit: Getty</em></font></p>
<p>Yoenis Cespedes should be an integral part of the outfield in 2015 thanks to his power, but he's only signed for that season: until he's locked up, the Sox shouldn't be shying away from any youthful alternatives who can be added to the pile of talent that will exist beyond next year. Daniel Nava is a solid player, but he's a platoon guy who should be limited to left with the occasional backing up at first and in right: he's not someone you necessarily shy away from upgrading on, and with the addition of Craig, the Sox have already planned to try to do just that. Bradley has tremendous defense, but he hasn't proven he can hit anything in the majors, and Betts is young enough where the Sox could stash him as depth for one more season at Triple-A if that's the cost of getting Castillo around for both the present and future.</p>
<p>An outfield with Cespedes, Betts, and Castillo has serious potential for greatness, and could exist in 2015 if injuries knock Craig and Victorino out, and in 2016 and beyond if Cespedes is extended as the Red Sox have made clear is their intention. It could also exist if the Red Sox make Victorino an expensive fourth outfielder -- which might help limit his injuries or could prove necessary as he tries to put some distance behind him and his back surgery. For the start of the year, though, you have to imagine, barring any trades, that the outfield will be Allen Craig in left, Rusney Castillo in center, and Yoenis Cespedes in right.</p>
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<p>A trade is a definite possibility, however. Let's say the Sox do extend Cespedes this winter: suddenly, they have three outfielders locked up for the next few years, at least, or at least two if you think Craig is the clear successor at either first or designated hitter if he manages to return to form. That extension doesn't make Mookie Betts expendable, but it does make it far easier to move him in a deal for a frontline starter, should the Red Sox whiff on the free agent market in their attempts at bringing back Jon Lester or wooing James Shields. They don't <i>have</i> to do that, of course, but the option is there should they desire or need it. Giving up Betts would disappoint many Sox fans, but if the Sox got back the last four years of Cole Hamels from the Phillies, for instance, at a cost of just $94 million, then it's hard to complain too much. If the Sox trade Betts as the center piece of a deal for Hamels and then also go out and sign James Shields to a similarly priced deal for five years, then even better.</p>
<p>Maybe a trade won't be necessary, though, if the Sox decide Betts -- or maybe even Castillo -- are a fit at third base, at least for 2015, as they wait for Victorino's and Napoli's deals to run out, opening up both cash and playing time for other needs and other players. Pitching is a clear need for the organization, though, and if they manage to extend Cespedes or fix Craig, the outfield is much less of one. Signing Castillo not only nets the Red Sox a player who, by most accounts, is very talented on both sides of the ball and should be in his prime years, but he also provides them the chance to make a trade to help the roster elsewhere. That's a lot to gain from a single transaction, and as the Red Sox are known to say, they're happy to do it, because all Castillo cost them was money.</p>
https://www.overthemonster.com/2014/8/22/6056677/rusney-castillo-red-sox-free-agent-tradeMarc Normandin2014-08-22T11:08:14-04:002014-08-22T11:08:14-04:00Red Sox sign Rusney Castillo to record deal
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<p>The Red Sox are expected to sign free agent outfielder Rusney Castillo to a seven-year deal worth $72.5 million.</p> <p>The Red Sox are set to sign free agent outfielder Rusney Castillo to a six-year deal worth $72 million. Marino Pepén had the news first:</p>
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<p>EXCLUSIVA: Rusney Castillo cerca de firmar con <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RedSox?src=hash">#RedSox</a>, se habla de 6 años y 72 MM. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLB?src=hash">#MLB</a></p>
— Marino Pepén (@Marino_Pepen) <a href="https://twitter.com/Marino_Pepen/statuses/502825964460863489">August 22, 2014</a>
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<p><b>[Update] </b>Make that seven years at $72.5 million in order to cover the remainder of 2014,<a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2014/08/22/red-sox-agree-to-seven-year-deal-with-rusney-castillo/"> according to Alex Speier</a>. This seems like a small difference, but it could mean the Red Sox are only on the line for $10 million in average annual value, the figure the team focuses on in order to stay under the Collective Bargaining Tax threshold. It's only $2 million, but that's a nice little bonus all the same.</p>
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<p>Castillo, 27, is the latest big-name free agent to come out of Cuba ready-made for the major leagues. While he doesn't cut the most impressive figure at 5'9" and 185 pounds (give or take, depending on who you ask), Castillo has impressed scouts with his combination of bat and foot speed. His contract surpasses that of Jose Dariel Abreu, who signed last October for $68 million.</p>
<p>Described at one point as "Brett Gardner with power," Castillo has played much of his Cuban career in right field, but would likely be destined for center field in the MLB, where he has shown plenty of aptitude playing for the Cuba in international baseball. With the only real weakness to his defensive game being a weak arm (something the Red Sox have dealt with at that position before), he doesn't need to do much with the bat to be a valuable baseball player.</p>
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<p>But, as you might have surmised by the aforementioned comp, the Red Sox expect him to do just fine at the plate. Castillo is a more aggressive hitter than Gardner, but has the bat speed to produce plenty of hits, and if not top-of-the-line power, certainly more than you might expect for a player of his size. 15-20 homers and plenty of line drives from a good defensive center fielder is quite the exciting package.</p>
<p>How the Red Sox will choose to introduce Castillo to the majors. They still have over 30 games left to play this season, and while some believe players like Castillo would benefit from an adjustment period in Triple-A, Castillo is very much MLB-ready. Boston's roster is awfully crowded right now, but with Castillo clearly a big part of the plan going forward, the Red Sox might be ready to shift some bodies (and cut some ties) to get him in the outfield right away.</p>
https://www.overthemonster.com/2014/8/22/6056651/red-sox-rusney-castillo-free-agent-contractBen Buchanan