Report: Red Sox to call up Rusney Castillo
By Ben Healey
As most of us already know, the Boston Red Sox have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. Now, they look to experiment with some newfound outfield talent in Cuban import Rusney Castillo.
According to Brian McPherson of the Providence Journal, the Red Sox are close to promoting Castillo to the Major League level. The Sox will fill out their 40-man roster as the expected date to call him up is Tuesday the 16th.
“Rusney Castillo expected to be among five final call-ups from PawSox on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. There are seven healthy players left on 40,” Brian McPherson tweeted yesterday afternoon.
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On August 23rd, the Red Sox made a record-breaking deal by signing Castillo to a seven-year, $72.5 million deal, the biggest contract ever given to a Cuban player. For the past month, Castillo has been slowly gaining experience with the Red Sox and the Major Leagues throughout his time with the Sox’s minor league systems. Most recently, the Pawtucket Red Sox have been playing with the help of Castillo in center field for the past few weeks.
Mixed thoughts about the deal have formed conflict about the signing. Some think that the Sox are going to deal him off in the offseason in a trade for a power bat or ace. Others immediately assigned him to the role of the Red Sox’s “center-fielder of the future”. With all of the trade chips that the Red Sox have in the outfield, nobody really knows what they will do with Castillo this offseason.
Bringing Castillo up for the last few weeks of the season won’t really help the Red Sox in any aspect now that they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs. Castillo will probably not start in many of the last few games. The Red Sox are really just looking to integrate him into the system, let him get to know his teammates, and become comfortable in a Major League environment in preparation for next season.
A lot of trades would formulate if the Red Sox were offering Castillo. But at the same time, the entire league will be watching his performance in the Majors. A lot depends on how Castillo hits Major League pitching and eventually pans out as a center fielder. We’ll all see for ourselves in the first few months of next season if the Red Sox got their money’s worth for the 27 year old.