Rusney Castillo: Boston's $72.5 million mistake?

Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, it appeared that Boston Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo had the tools to make an impact in Boston’s lineup for years to come.

Funny what a difference 18 months can make.

A lot has been written over the last few days after Red Sox manager John Farrell announced that Brock Holt would be getting the start in left field on Opening Day against the Cleveland Indians, once again leaving Castillo as the odd man out.

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With Holt locking down the left field job–at least to start the season– Chris Young in the mix and Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Mookie Betts locking up center field and right field, respectively, it appears the man making 72.5 million dollars under his current contract (through 2020) will be once again riding the pine–or worse–starting in Triple-A Pawtucket.

The Red Sox are in a tough spot with Castillo. He is being paid far too much to be spending time in Triple-A, but he needs to get at-bats every day to continue to get better. He’s not going to get that in Boston, at least not yet, allowing fans to wonder what exactly happened with this highly touted international free agent.

Things didn’t start out so bad for Castillo upon his arrival. Though the scope was limited, he arrived with fanfare, producing what the Red Sox thought were the stats of good things to come.

Castillo played ten games at the end of the 2014 season, hitting .333 (12-36), belting two home runs, stealing three bases and recording a .400 on-base percentage.

A spring training injury in 2015 seemed to set the tone for Castillo’s season. Less-then-stellar stats, though productive, highlighted his 40 games at Pawtucket. Sure, he hit .282 but his OBP was only .337, though he drove in 17 runs.

With the Red Sox out of the playoff picture, Castillo saw a lot of playing time post all-star break. He ended up playing 80 games, hitting only .253. He did hit five home runs to go along with 29 runs batted in, but he struck out 54 times.

Castillo did nothing to help his cause this spring. A .213 batting average was highlighted by the fact he recorded only one extra-base hit to go along with a .275 OBP.

What does one do with those type of numbers? Yes, it’s spring but some sort of consistency is needed to warrant a starting spot.

Castillo is 28 years old, relatively young considering he’s only been playing professional baseball here in the States for less than two years. With the type of money he’s owed, though, it might be hard to trade him and get adequate value in return.

Chances are, he will still get a fair amount of playing time in the outfield. Bradley, Jr. has proved to be inconsistent at the plate, though he performed much better in the second-half of last season. His defense is what’s valued, though, and Castillo isn’t quite up to Bradley’s level.

Holt will no doubt see his fair share of work in the infield, most likely at the corner positions. Pablo Sandoval continues to take up space at third, with Travis Shaw pushing him for the starting spot. Sandoval needed to have a good spring and did not, so Holt, especially if Shaw also struggles, may find himself as the starting third baseman soon enough.

The Red Sox, with Young already a proven veteran, should give the majority of at-bats to Castillo. Baseball has such a long season and April can be considered an evaluation period. With so much money on the line, it’s worth it for the Red Sox to take a long look at Castillo before his value diminishes completely.

Perhaps Castillo simply needs to be reassured that he is the man and he will respond accordingly. Give him a month and see what happens.

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Until then, the Red Sox continue to prepare for what they hope is a season that sees their return to the playoffs. It can be done, with Castillo factoring in, if he can recapture the potential that brought him here. If he does, the Red Sox can ease their minds and turn their attention to the 80 million dollar mistake that is Rick Porcello.

That sounds like a lot of fun, right?

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Rusney Castillo: Boston’s $72.5 million mistake?

By Jason Haskins | Mar 31, 2016

Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, it appeared that Boston Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo had the tools to make an impact in Boston’s lineup for years to come.