Sox sign Rusney Castillo to 7-year/$72.5M deal (2014-2020)

[Corsi]

 

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal  3m
Source: Castillo deal with #RedSox, once official, will allow him to opt out after 2019 season, one year before his contract expires.
Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal  3m
Puig, Abreu deals enable them to opt in to arbitration after 3 years service. Castillo will be first Cuban with right to opt out for FA.
 

 

[MakMan44]

What about Cepedes?
 
EDIT: Addressing that in his next tweet. Whatever, I think he's just splitting hairs there. 

 

[Corsi]

What about Cepedes?
 
EDIT: Addressing that in his next tweet. Whatever, I think he's just splitting hairs there. 

 
 

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal  3m
For those asking, Cespedes does not have an opt out, but he is eligible to become a free agent at the end of his four-year deal next season.
 

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

 
No one's calling him an overpaid 5th outfielder or a bust.  But what some folks -- me included -- are saying is that there's a hell of a lot of potential downside risk to signing a 27 year old prospect for over $70MM.
 
Hopefully the scouts have nailed this one and Castillo averages 2-3 WAR per year of his contract (or better!).  That's the potential upside risk, which is nice.
 
But the sad fact is that his closest statistical comp from Cuba was a guy the Sox scouted and signed, but who never cracked the MLB roster.  

Of course there is risk. But if you look at the AAV it's not as bad as it was at first. If this year had proven anything it's that top prospects are not assured MLB success. If you told me that Boston would be able to sign the top free agent outfielder on the market, get Cespedes and get Craig back on July 1st I probably wouldn't have believed it.

If Castillo even produces close to his scouting reports then he's a much better bet going forward than Ellsbury at half the price.

 

[Plympton91]

What about Cepedes?
 
EDIT: Addressing that in his next tweet. Whatever, I think he's just splitting hairs there. 

It's not splitting hairs. The A's committed nothing to Cespedes after year 4 if he didn't work out. An opt out is a totally player friendly deal, where if the player is bad or injured they get their money anyway and if the player is good they become a free agent.

 

[seantoo]

I don't think he starts, but I'm pretty sure he stays, given that his trade value is probably at an all-time low. I think JBJ is the fourth OF, with Cespedes, Castillo, Victorino left to right, Holt as supersub, and Allen Craig maybe getting a few days in LF. I was merely trying to point out that Craig is more complementary with JBJ than Carp would have been, since JBJ is by far the hitter on the roster most likely to be pinch-hit for, given the reluctance to pinch hit for a catcher. As it is, there's definitely some sort of a logjam in the OF, especially since Holt and Betts seem likely to get the bulk of their playing time there. This assumes WMB or X is at 3rd.

How does his value get better as a fourth outfielder. How does he improve as a hitter without regular at bats?

 

[MakMan44]

It's not splitting hairs. The A's committed nothing to Cespedes after year 4 if he didn't work out. An opt out is a totally player friendly deal, where if the player is bad or injured they get their money anyway and if the player is good they become a free agent.

It still functions on the same base principle. In both cases the player can reach FA before they should traditionally. I see and acknowledge the difference between the two clauses, but the most important part of the pair is the same and that's why I said it's splitting hairs.  

 

[rembrat]

You don't add 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason without juicing big-time. This alone would shy me away from the guy. Maybe this deal will work out, but right now I don't see a lot to like.

 
"John Smith gained 20lbs of muscle" is a baseball writer's meme. Really what he did was gain some weight. The muscle/fat distribution tips way more to the fat unless you are roiding, see Barry Bonds from one offseason to the next.
 
When a Cuban athlete defects and is given access to proper nutrition and state of the art training facilities it shouldn't surprise anyone if he gains weight. Reportedly he defected 6 months ago and assuming he isn't juicing but is gaining clean that means he could have safely added 3 or 4lbs a month.
 
At 5'9, 205lb, with 30SB potential, I'm excited to see this mini Mike Trout (in terms of size and speed) put his head down and take off.  

 

[DanoooME]

 
No one's calling him an overpaid 5th outfielder or a bust.  But what some folks -- me included -- are saying is that there's a hell of a lot of potential downside risk to signing a 27 year old prospect for over $70MM.
 
Hopefully the scouts have nailed this one and Castillo averages 2-3 WAR per year of his contract (or better!).  That's the potential upside risk, which is nice.
 
But the sad fact is that his closest statistical comp from Cuba was a guy the Sox scouted and signed, but who never cracked the MLB roster.  

 
 

 
What is the "hell of a lot" of potential downside risk?  ~$10mm per year is their downside.  There is nothing else.  If you mean to suggest that the ~$10mm per annum might be the difference between the Sox winning another World Series or them not making the post season over the course of the contract (because I would define that as a "hell of a lot of risk") then I think the Sox have much bigger issues.  Or am I missing something?  What is the cost here besides money - unless you think the contract will prevent other players from developing - and again the contract is reasonable enough for the Sox to eat if this guy turns out to be a bust.
 
This is absolutely the sort of risk the Sox can and should take.  

 
There's also the opportunity cost risk of the signing.  Bradley basically loses his job and they need to figure out what to do with Betts as a potential option in CF.  I don't think the money is the issue.  We know the Sox have plenty of that and enough cheap players on the roster to spend it.
 
Personally, I still think Bradley is going to hit.  I think we react too quickly sometimes to players' struggles.  A lot of expectations are thrown on to these kids that may be unrealistic given the typical development curve.  Then when they struggle, people overreact and say they must not have been that good to begin with.  I think the expectations out of the gate need to be termpered somewhat, while when they inevitably struggle, we need to cut them a little slack.  It's a delicate balancing act, but if these kids don't play and don't go through those struggles, they'll never develop into quality players (and I'm not saying all of them will).  And we as fans need to understand that and be patient.
 
Yes, Bradley has had a frustrating year, for us and for him.  But I think the talent is there, it just needs some time to develop.  And it might take a half-season at AAA to get it to come out, but I think it will come out.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 3s
Salaries for rusney of 10.5M, 10.5M and 10.5M in '15-'17, 11M and 11M in '18 and '19, $13.5M in '20. #redsox
 

 

[Hank Scorpio]

85% of an .800 OPS is .680. If they had Betts playing and putting up a .680 OPS, everyone would be screaming, "Why didn't they sign Castillo?" So. what does Castillo have to hit to justify the seven year, $72M contract? Is league-average for his position enough or do you expect more from an overweight player who hasn't been on the field in over 12 months? I still view this as a panic move by the Red Sox front office, who didn't bother bidding on Cespedes, were amazed by Puig's performance, lost out on Abreu..."Oh, we can't let this get away."
 
Maybe I'll be surprised.

I realize saying "if player X is 85% of player Y" is hyperbolic, but I'd at least think there'd have to be some sort of baseline that isn't "zero" to base this on. I wouldn't say that a .500 OPS player is half the player of a 1.000 player. Or as someone else said, the value of production isn't linear.

 

[Luis Taint]

Castillo is at Fenway

 

[Luis Taint]

.

 

[HangingW/ScottCooper]

"So-and-so added X pounds of muscle in the offseason" is a line the media has been throwing out for decades and it's almost always bullshit (or greatly exaggerated).

Didn't Middlebrooks add 10-20 pounds of muscle this offseason?

 

[E5 Yaz]

Didn't Middlebrooks add 10-20 pounds of muscle this offseason?

 
But the rest of her is cherce

 

[RedOctober3829]

Mike Petraglia ‏@Trags 2m
Here at Fenway where @RedSox have just officially announce signing of Cuban OF Rusney Castillo
 

 

[RedOctober3829]

 

[Harry Hooper]

 

Mike Petraglia ‏@Trags 2m
Here at Fenway where @RedSox have just officially announce signing of Cuban OF Rusney Castillo
 

 

 
Castig just said there's probably going to be a post-game presss conference.

 

[mabrowndog]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 3s
Salaries for rusney of 10.5M, 10.5M and 10.5M in '15-'17, 11M and 11M in '18 and '19, $13.5M in '20. #redsox

 
Also:
 

 
Jon Heyman @JonHeymanCBS  ·  3h

Rusney Castillo physical completed. 100K 2014 salary plus $5.4M signing bonus, payable in '14

 
So there's the $72.5M.
 
I'm willing to bet that by the 2019-20 off-season, at least 70% of MLB position players with 6+ years of MLB service time (i.e. post-arb but FA eligible) will be making more than $13.5M per year. A qualifying offer for departing FAs (if that system is still in use by then) will probably be in the $20M range. So unless Castillo grossly underperforms in 2019, he's going to opt out. And I'm fine with that, especially since the Sox wouldn't have to pay any buy-out for 2020. He just walks away. And unless we hear otherwise, he'll be tied to whatever FA compensation is enacted in the next CBA.

 

[Harry Hooper]

O'B just read off a Sox press release (not on the website yet). Castillo is going down to Florida for tune-up workouts.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Castillo will wear #38

 

[mabrowndog]

 

[Corsi]

Ben says they're going to work to acquire a work visa this week and then get him in workouts and games and he would be playing CF.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

 
 
 
There's also the opportunity cost risk of the signing.  Bradley basically loses his job and they need to figure out what to do with Betts as a potential option in CF.  I don't think the money is the issue.  We know the Sox have plenty of that and enough cheap players on the roster to spend it.
 
Personally, I still think Bradley is going to hit.  I think we react too quickly sometimes to players' struggles.  A lot of expectations are thrown on to these kids that may be unrealistic given the typical development curve.  Then when they struggle, people overreact and say they must not have been that good to begin with.  I think the expectations out of the gate need to be termpered somewhat, while when they inevitably struggle, we need to cut them a little slack.  It's a delicate balancing act, but if these kids don't play and don't go through those struggles, they'll never develop into quality players (and I'm not saying all of them will).  And we as fans need to understand that and be patient.
 
Yes, Bradley has had a frustrating year, for us and for him.  But I think the talent is there, it just needs some time to develop.  And it might take a half-season at AAA to get it to come out, but I think it will come out.

 
 
Is this a "hell of a lot of risk"?  Do you really think the Sox are going to just give up on Bradley?  At the very least, he is another trade asset and the guy appears to be a strong defensive CF'er.  Why would the Sox give up on him when he might, at the very least, net them something from a trading partner.
 
Sometimes the folks here react simply to react.  I am not saying that is what you or BP was doing but in the scheme of moves the Sox can make, signing a potential high-upside position player to relatively reasonable contract in the context of the market is a fairly low risk endeavor.  Signing Ellsbury to a six or seven year deal or signing an over 30 pitcher to a mega-contract is what I would deem an extremely risky move. 

 

[OttoC]

Are the Red Sox giving up on Bradley? Has it already started? I seen press recently suggesting that he is not receptive to people telling him what he needs to do or maybe try.
 
“Personally, I could give a crap what’s said about me. And that goes for anybody,” Bradley said on Wednesday in Pawtucket. “I believe in myself and I don’t care who else does. But the only way to make someone a believer is to succeed and that’s your only thing. I’ve never been the type of person to say anything or say what I’m going to do just do it.”
 
“I’ve been doing a routine all year long,” Bradley said. “So I don’t honestly believe that it has anything to do with the preparation before games because I’ve prepared the same way my whole life. When they say find out a routine that works for you, I’m playing ball. Same day, in and out, for years.”   http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2014/08/jackie_bradley_jr_determined_t.html

 

[Harry Hooper]

Castillo will wear #38

 
 
Is that a joke?

 

[Orel Miraculous]

 
 
Is that a joke?

 
38 aint going up on the facade. 

 

[Ferm Sheller]

 
 
Is that a joke?

Grady Sizemore wore it.

 

[mabrowndog]

Is that a joke?

 
Nope. That's what they gave him.
 
Matt Thornton wore it last year, and Grady Sizemore and Heath Hembree have worn it this year.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Are the Red Sox giving up on Bradley? Has it already started? I seen press recently suggesting that he is not receptive to people telling him what he needs to do or maybe try.
 
“Personally, I could give a crap what’s said about me. And that goes for anybody,” Bradley said on Wednesday in Pawtucket. “I believe in myself and I don’t care who else does. But the only way to make someone a believer is to succeed and that’s your only thing. I’ve never been the type of person to say anything or say what I’m going to do just do it.”
 
“I’ve been doing a routine all year long,” Bradley said. “So I don’t honestly believe that it has anything to do with the preparation before games because I’ve prepared the same way my whole life. When they say find out a routine that works for you, I’m playing ball. Same day, in and out, for years.”   http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2014/08/jackie_bradley_jr_determined_t.html

I could be reading these with the wrong mindset, but comments like those probably won't do JBJ any favors. I wonder if there are any coachability issues with him. It would be surprising giving all we've heard about him in the past, but then again, we've never seen him fail this hard before either.

 

[mabrowndog]

Just a suggestion, before this thread makes like so many others and veers off into multiple directions: Any JBJ discussion that isn't related to Castillo should probably take place in a JBJ thread.

 

[touchstone033]

 
 
Is that a joke?

 
Lee Tinsley wasn't that great...

 

[Corsi]

 
Nope. That's what they gave him.
 
Matt Thornton wore it last year, and Grady Sizemore and Heath Hembree have worn it this year.

 
Does this mean they're giving up on Hembree?

 

[OttoC]

I could be reading these with the wrong mindset, but comments like those probably won't do JBJ any favors. I wonder if there are any coachability issues with him. It would be surprising giving all we've heard about him in the past, but then again, we've never seen him fail this hard before either.

 
Those were allegedly quotes from JBJ.

 

[strek1]

They're not giving up on anybody until they announce the trade.  (Or maybe one them gets hit by a bus this winter)

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

They're not giving up on anybody until they announce the trade.  (Or maybe one them gets hit by a bus this winter)

 
A trade doesn't mean they've given up on anyone. Well, not unless you believe that Cheringon and company operate under the belief that they have to "win" every trade, rather than find teams that have needs that match up with their surpluses.

 

[seantoo]

They're going to make a 3 or 4 to 1 trade for a top of the rotation starter, probably involving at least an outfielder and a pitcher if not 2 of one of them. They're still probably wheeling and dealing now, they could trade Nava, cespedes, or Holt tomorrow for all we know.

This is a case where "The Plan" is blindingly obvious. Castillo gives them the depth to trade Bradley or Betts, depending on the haul coming back.

Also, they've got a lot of certainty in the bullpen if they bring people back, plus the ability to convert the starting prospects to relief.

Or break in prospects through the pen as the Orioles used to do back in the day.

 

[Reggie's Racquet]

Ah, who knows?  You can't have a enough Cubans. Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Jorge Burns?

 

[RedOctober3829]

Jorge Burns?

Suzyn Waldman

 

[soxhop411]

While the Red Sox blew other teams away in the Rusney Castillo sweepstakes, his tool set clearly impressed a lot of teams.
This from a highly-respected scout from another club:
“Body type reminds of a more physical and muscular Andrew McCutchen. Absolutely shredded. Rumors of increasing physicality dramatically in the last 6 months. Jaw dropping, impressing physique. Workout only. Explosive speed. Ran a 6.5 sixty yard dash and appeared like he was shot out of a cannon. Crazy acceleration and closing speed. Dynamic athleticism and explosiveness dripping throughout his veins. Took infield in CF and dabbled in the infield as well. Caught the baseball fine in CF and easy to envision him being a plus defender. Closing speed and acceleration. Warp speed type. Arm appears a shade rigid. Although would still grade arm as average. Dabbled some in the infield and took fungoes at SS. Technique didn’t look like SS quality. Caught the baseball well, but lacked the fluidity and ease of a natural middle infielder. Wouldn’t rule out playing 2nd base in a super utility type role. Exchange and transfer looked better than anticipated. Nose for the baseball. Coupled with his explosiveness and acceleration. Good recipe for being a standout defender in CF with closing speed. Workout only and some simulated game action to gauge offensive capabilities. Going for broke in every swing during BP and hammered the baseball over the fence in all directions. Popped the baseball up and it came down over the fence numerous times. Stupid strength at contact point. Ferocious swings with a taste of rigidness. Lacks fluidity and ease of stroke. Counters that with ferocity, strength, bat speed and explosiveness. Upper cut type hack in BP today. Carried over to game action. Found a way to display good balance while maintaining a vicious swing thru the zone. Better path and more realistic swings during live BP. Hammered his share to both directions. Kept balance. Swung and missed on a couple. Remained very competitive and displayed deafening sound at the point of contact. Encouraged by past reports of recognition and pitch selection. Going for broke here on most swings, but still kept balance and showed some discipline. Slight rigidness to stroke is overwhelmed by explosiveness and sheer strength. High caliber specimen and athlete. Athletically arrogant and not afraid to showcase ability. Cespedes has a touch more fluidity to game. This player actually displays more explosiveness inside a small area than the aforementioned player. Cocky, yet really focused demeanor. Determined to put on a show today and he succeeded. Curious to examine his numbers during international competition. Sounds as though he is a late bloomer to the damage train. Focused, skilled and talented. Over comes slight rigidness with explosiveness. Unorthodox, but keeps balance and capable of using the entire field. Superfly athlete with baseball ability.”
 

http://www.gammonsdaily.com/peter-gammons-highly-respected-scout-on-rusney-castillo/

 

[Dahabenzapple2]

http://www.gammonsdaily.com/peter-gammons-highly-respected-scout-on-rusney-castillo/

I hope this isn't 100% overhype. He sounds like Jimmy Wynn, for jah's sake

 

[Al Zarilla]

I hope this isn't 100% overhype. He sounds like Jimmy Wynn, for jah's sake

The Toy Cannon! I'd take that.

 

[Laser Show]

The Toy Cannon! I'd take that.

I just hope "Superfly" becomes this guy's nickname

 

[Rough Carrigan]

I just hope "Superfly" becomes this guy's nickname

Complete with Curtis Mayfield walk up music.

 

[Sprowl]

http://www.gammonsdaily.com/peter-gammons-highly-respected-scout-on-rusney-castillo/
 

Sounds as though he is a late bloomer to the damage train.

 

 
What does this mean? The scout's metaphors are more confused than Clay's squirrels.

 

[67WasBest]

 
"Sounds as though he is a late bloomer to the damage train."
 
What does this mean?

I believe it means his power arrived later than most.

 

[Montana Fan]

 

I really hope he works out, I just don't see what part of his game Mookie couldn't do at 85% or better.  The amount of money being thrown around relative to the risks and roster issues it's going to create just reminds me an awful lot of the Carl Crawford signing.

 
 

I actually think Betts is probably better than Castillo.

 
 

Are the Red Sox giving up on Bradley? Has it already started? I seen press recently suggesting that he is not receptive to people telling him what he needs to do or maybe try.

 
The Sox announced the signing during the game and Castig/OB were discussing it.  Their comment about how badly the Sox missed the athleticism of Ells and Vic this season rang very true.  I expect Castillo and Betts to both be in the lineup next season.  It sounds like Castillo is slated for CF and I'd think Betts could fit in either RF or 3B but they need to find a poisition and stick him there.
 
As for JBJ, MaBrown's admonition aside, I think he needs to spend 2015 in AAA working on his hitting.  I view him as a mid-season call up at best.  Castillo and Betts hopefully will be MUCH better offensively than JBJ was this year making JBJ-AAA a no brainer.  My preference is Castillo/Betts in CF/RF with Victorino as the Wild Card.
 
And yes, I like the signing.  Additional options that only cost money = YES.  Now keep driving for that bottom 10 finish.

 

 

[Toe Nash]

Well, who knows if he can hit major league pitching, but from that scouting report it sounds like he could take over at safety for the Patriots when Patrick Chung gets cut. Maybe they can trade him for Mallett.

 

[Tharkin]

Late bloomer to the damage train!
 
Sorry, just wanted to see how it felt to type something that awesome.  That needs to be incorporated into his next thread title.
 
That's quite a scouting report, and very different from what we saw before the bidding.  If I recall correctly, those were more "Looks pretty good, should be able to be a solid everyday player" and less "THIS MAN IS A JAW DROPPING VICIOUS SHRED BEAST!"  So what gives? Is this just a case of one scout liking what he sees a lot more than the other scouts did? Were the earlier reports outdated or downplaying his superfly talent in an attempt to suppress bidding?

 

[LeoCarrillo]

If this lineup becomes an ace-killing leviathan of Superfly, Good Pedey, Papi, Stanton (sorry), Cespedes, Nap, whoever, whoever, then they must have the moniker The Damage Train.