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

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MakMan44

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Way more than I expected him to sign for. I trust the FO, but man does this deal worry me at first blush. 
 

Jaylach

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sackamano said:
Should they consider extending him now, before he can become a free agent?
 
That's a lot of money.
 
Isn't it more about the years than the money? I mean, that's 12m a year which doesn't seem all that crazy considering Victorino is getting 13m a year. Granted Victorino has proved himself at the major league level and Castillo has not... Cespedes signed a 9m/year deal back in 2012.. (2 years shorter though) so it doesn't scream outrageous to me.
 

Plympton91

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NickEsasky said:
While I agree with the first part, given how few times they have actually made the playoffs lately and 2 (most likely) last place seasons in the last 3 years means they aren't infallible. 
This is far more balanced than OptimusPapis presentation of things. A lot of the guys who produced the championships in 2004 and 2007 were acquired by previous owners and many of the best scouts and assistant GMs and GM from those years are now working for other teams.

Castillo for more than the Yankees gave Gardner and half what they gave Ellsbury would be quite a statement of confidence in their scouts. Hopefully they'll get him.

One thing to consider in the value is the premium they place on defense and how much easier it is to project that than it is to project offense. If they think he's a 1 or 2 dWAR player then $12 million per season to play CF or RF in Fenway isn't that much of a gamble.
 

LeoCarrillo

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Fire up that Cohiba you were saving, Ben.

If Abreu is the Esplendido and Puig the Robusto, we're getting the Exquisito.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Ummm I don't know how I feel about this. Guess we are going to find out.
 

Corsi

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MakMan44 said:
Way more than I expected him to sign for. I trust the FO, but man does this deal worry me at first blush. 
 
Weren't the initial rumors like 6/$64M?  Who cares about an extra $8M spread over six seasons?  
 
They identified their guy and got him.  Folks can't complain about them coming up $3M short on the Abreu deal and then in the next breath complain that they overspent by $8M on Castillo. 
 

DanoooME

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Jaylach said:
 
Isn't it more about the years than the money? I mean, that's 12m a year which doesn't seem all that crazy considering Victorino is getting 13m a year. 
 
And Victorino has done a ton of good work in the majors, while Castillo has been toiling away in Cuba.  Giving out this contract is wishcasting Puig/Abreu on him.  I hope it works out, but I don't have high hopes.
 

glennhoffmania

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Corsi said:
 
Weren't the initial rumors like 6/$64M?  Who cares about an extra $8M spread over six seasons?  
 
They identified their guy and got him.  Folks can't complain about them coming up $3M short on the Abreu deal and then in the next breath complain that they overspent by $8M on Castillo. 
 
They can if they realize that Abreu just might be a much better player than Castillo.
 

Cumberland Blues

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It's not really a lot of money.  He only needs to be like a 2 win player to break even, and they've bought out arb if he's better than that.  And at < 1/15th of the tax threshold - this isn't going to hamper flexibility all that much if he's a bust. 
 

RedOctober3829

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Corsi said:
 
Weren't the initial rumors like 6/$64M?  Who cares about an extra $8M spread over six seasons?  
 
They identified their guy and got him.  Folks can't complain about them coming up $3M short on the Abreu deal and then in the next breath complain that they overspent by $8M on Castillo. 
I think you can.  Abreu was billed as a much better player than Castillo is.  This is a very expensive gamble that we all better hope works out.
 

Toe Nash

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Seems fine unless he totally tanks, but all I can think of is how much of a miss Abreu was (for not just the Sox). Abreu was putting up Barry Bonds 2001-04 numbers in Cuba while Castillo has been putting up just pretty good (edit: maybe very good) numbers. I really hope we don't end up with the guy whose numbers don't really translate for whatever reasons.
 

TheRooster

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I'd much rather they make errors of comission than errors of omission.  Given the recent success of Cuban hitters, this seems like a great risk to take.
 

MakMan44

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Corsi said:
 
Weren't the initial rumors like 6/$64M?  Who cares about an extra $8M spread over six seasons?  
 
They identified their guy and got him.  Folks can't complain about them coming up $3M short on the Abreu deal and then in the next breath complain that they overspent by $8M on Castillo. 
I read between $50-60/5, so the actual deal falls in line with that. 
 
And my opinion on the deal is based more on the fact I don't think Castillo is worth the money based on things I've read. Like you said though, the FO wanted him and spent the money necessary to get him. I'm willing to trust them, because they have a ton of more info than I do. 
 

Hee Sox Choi

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Corsi said:
 
Folks can't complain about them coming up $3M short on the Abreu deal and then in the next breath complain that they overspent by $8M on Castillo. 
Well, considering Abreu had the greatest stats ever coming out of Cuba...
 

Plympton91

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DanoooME said:
 
And Victorino has done a ton of good work in the majors, while Castillo has been toiling away in Cuba.  Giving out this contract is wishcasting Puig/Abreu on him.  I hope it works out, but I don't have high hopes.
Puig and Abreu are the biggest bargains in baseball. He doesn't gave to be as good as they are to be worth this contract. All he has to be is Daniel Nava with more speed and a less drastic platoon split.
 

Niastri

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Does he play Right, Cespedes in Left and Bradley/Betts in Center?
 
Victorino 4th outfielder, Whoever loses out between Bradley/Betts rides the shuttle as the 5th until Victorino's contract expires.
 
Holt Utility Everything, and then Backup Catcher for the bench.
 
Or can we assume they think Victorino is never truly healthy again?
 

Corsi

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Hee Sox Choi said:
Well, considering Abreu had the greatest stats ever coming out of Cuba...
 
My point was more in identifying a guy they want and making sure they get him.  Not necessarily comparing Abreu to Castillo.  Generally, if you want a guy, you're going to have to overpay.  Perhaps they did that here with Castillo, but I'm glad I'm not reading reports tomorrow of them coming up $5M short.
 
Plus, let's face it, the Sox aren't a sexy team right now (defending champs notwithstanding), so they probably had to cough up some more cash to convince him this is where he should be.
 

MakMan44

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Niastri said:
Does he play Right, Cespedes in Left and Bradley/Betts in Center?
 
Victorino 4th outfielder, Whoever loses out between Bradley/Betts rides the shuttle as the 5th until Victorino's contract expires.
 
Holt Utility Everything, and then Backup Catcher for the bench.
 
Or can we assume they think Victorino is never truly healthy again?
Still got Craig too. 
 

Jaylach

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Plympton91 said:
Puig and Abreu are the biggest bargains in baseball. He doesn't gave to be as good as they are to be worth this contract. All he has to be is Daniel Nava with more speed.
 
I feel sick to my stomach agreeing with you, but this (to me anyways) is spot on. He doesn't need to be Trout to be worth 12m a year. In fact, it's very easy for someone to be "worth" 12/m a year in baseball right now.
 
And Puig is insanely cheap given his production. 6m a year? If that's not a steal, I don't know what it is.
 

Stan Papi Was Framed

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TheRooster said:
I'd much rather they make errors of comission than errors of omission.  Given the recent success of Cuban hitters, this seems like a great risk to take.
yep.  I would have felt badly if they didn't get him. 
 

glennhoffmania

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Niastri said:
Does he play Right, Cespedes in Left and Bradley/Betts in Center?
 
Victorino 4th outfielder, Whoever loses out between Bradley/Betts rides the shuttle as the 5th until Victorino's contract expires.
 
Holt Utility Everything, and then Backup Catcher for the bench.
 
Or can we assume they think Victorino is never truly healthy again?
 
I think this means they'll trade Bradley and/or Betts.  I hate the idea of hoarding prospects who have value and then getting nothing out of them or for them.  See Brandon Wood.
 

Curll

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sackamano said:
Should they consider extending him now, before he can become a free agent?
 
That's a lot of money.
Eh $12M/year. Less than Victorino.
 

MakMan44

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PrometheusWakefield said:
So we're pretty much resigned to having a whole team of outfielders next year? There's gotta be some trades coming.
I don't know. Maybe they think he can play a legitimate 3rd or SS. 
 

DanoooME

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glennhoffmania said:
 
I think this means they'll trade Bradley and/or Betts.  I hate the idea of hoarding prospects who have value and then getting nothing out of them or for them.  See Brandon Wood.
 
Or Michael Bowden.
 
Sadly, I think this is true.  I am going to miss Bradley's defense something fierce.  And I think Bradley will eventually hit.  His eye in the minors was too good to not hit.
 

Corsi

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PrometheusWakefield said:
So we're pretty much resigned to having a whole team of outfielders next year? There's gotta be some trades coming.
 
Heard Castillo may play Rover.
 

RedOctober3829

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Cherington has preached flexibility ever since taking over as GM.  He created payroll flexibility with the Punto Trade and that led to a championship.  He did not follow through this season with positional flexibility with the OF and it has played a big part in their failures this season.  Now, he has created a ton of it with this signing and the trades he made on 7/31.  He has many options to sift through this November due to both payroll and positional flexibility.  I have full confidence that he will make the correct decisions and that the team will be back to contention in 2015.
 

HomeRunBaker

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PrometheusWakefield said:
So we're pretty much resigned to having a whole team of outfielders next year? There's gotta be some trades coming.
Saw this quote.

"It's all part of the plan to implement advanced defensive metrics that will all but eliminate doubles down the lines or in the gaps by the use of 5 OF at one time."
 
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