Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo’s stock has fallen sharply, as Scott Lauber notes in his latest column at ESPN. Castillo entered spring training expected to handle everyday duties in left field, but a poor spring performance has left him behind a platoon of Brock Holt and Chris Young.
The Red Sox signed Castillo to a seven-year, $72.5 million contract in August 2014, a record contract for a Cuban defector. The club was lured by his raw athleticism, but that hasn’t translated to results on the field. While he hit .333 with a pair of homers in 40 plate appearances in the majors that year, he struggled over a larger sample size last season. Castillo hit .253/.288/.359 over 289 plate appearances spanning 80 games.
Still, the team was willing to give him a shot, but Castillo failed to capitalize as he has hit the skids this spring. In 49 at-bats, Castillo has only one double and nine singles. The Red Sox don’t plan to demote Castillo to the minors, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.
At FanGraphs, Dave Cameron suggests the Padres, Brewers, and Phillies should take a chance and try to turn Castillo’s fortune around. It’s not known yet if the Red Sox will make the 28-year-old available, but helping offset some of the $56.5 million remaining on the contract would be enticing, presumably.
