RUSNEY CASTILLO & CLEVELAND A GOOD FIT?
Rusney Castillo Signed With Caguas in December
The general manager of the Caguas Criollos, Alex Cora, confirmed that the Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo will join the team during the month of December, for the second half of the 2016-17 season of the League of Professional Baseball Roberto Clemente (LBPRC) .
The 27-year-old has three years of experience in the majors, with the organization of the Red Sox.
As recently as this year, he played nine games with .250 (8-2). In 2015, he participated in 80 games and batted .253 (273-69), while in 2014 he was active in 10 games and his average was .333 (36-12).
This year in Triple A level, he batted .263 (385-104) and on-base percentage was .309 in 103 games.
Castillo defended the colors of Caguas in the 'round robin' last season. He also played with the Caguas during the 2014-15 season. Had a robust .405 average (37-15) with ten runs scored and six RBIs in ten games.
Making a Player Out of Rusney Castillo
Late in the 2014 season, the Red Sox wrote a check worth $72.5 million and handed it to a stranger. The organization had barely missed out on prized Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu less than a year earlier, and they ensured they wouldn’t be topped in the international market again by giving Rusney Castillo the largest-ever deal to a Cuban defector. Castillo wasn’t a complete stranger, of course. They’d seen him play plenty of baseball, they’d met him in person; he was no more a stranger than any other international free agent coming to America. But with Abreu, there was the kind of raw power that can’t be ignored. With guys like Yoenis Cespedes and especially Yasiel Puig, the tools were off the charts. Undeniable freak athleticism. There weren’t the Cespedes and Puig tools. Instead, there were concerns of a swing deficiency, and “fourth outfielder” labels, and comparisons to Rajai Davis and Shane Victorino.
To the present. Here we are, more than a year later, with Castillo having played in parts of two seasons, and the thick fog of uncertainty still looms, and now it’s shading our view of the Green Monster, locked into a place in left field on Opening Day for a team with hopes of contention and little in the way of a viable, everyday backup plan in the event that the fog happens to grow thicker, and darker.
What can we make of Rusney Castillo? What’s gone right? What’s gone wrong? Where are the points of optimism, pessimism?
Let’s begin with a positive. In 703 career innings in the outfield, spread pretty evenly across the three positions, Defensive Runs Saved pegs Castillo as a +17 defender. Ultimate Zone Rating says +12. Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average has +9. These type of numbers are always meant to be regressed, especially in a limited sample like the one we have. But when they all agree, and they all agree on such an extreme figure, they’re trying to tell you something. And that something is: based on what we’ve seen so far, there’s little reason to be believe Castillo can’t be a truly elite defensive outfielder, and he just might be one already.
The range has graded well. The arm has graded very well. And, while Castillo is relatively unfamiliar with playing left field, and especially playing left field with the Green Monster behind him, early reports seem to indicate that he’s adjusting to his home park’s quirk with ease. Castillo looks to be an asset in the field, and the one thing every scout seemed to agree on was that Castillo has plus-plus speed, even if he doesn’t have great base stealing instincts. T
he thing about plus defenders with speed is that they don’t need to hit much to be valuable players, which is particularly relevant to this conversation, because Castillo is coming off a season in which he didn’t hit at all.
Castillo’s slash line through 329 major league plate appearances is .262/.302/.379, which is laughably similar to the .268/.308/.430 line that lead prospect analyst Dan Farnsworth predicted when he extensively analyzed Castillo’s swing last year. Excerpts from Farnsworth’s piece include “shoulders stay very level” and “bat flat as it comes into the zone” and “little natural lift in his swing” and “swing path is going to be the limiting factor in Castillo’s ultimate ceiling.”
But, Castillo’s slash line through 329 major league plate appearances is .262/.302/.379, which is laughably similar to the .268/.308/.430 line that lead prospect analyst Dan Farnsworth predicted when he extensively analyzed Castillo’s swing last year. Excerpts from Farnsworth’s piece include “shoulders stay very level” and “bat flat as it comes into the zone” and “little natural lift in his swing” and “swing path is going to be the limiting factor in Castillo’s ultimate ceiling.” Castillo just posted the sixth-highest ground ball rate. Nearly two-thirds of his balls in play were on the ground. Castillo is regularly facing American pitching for the first time in his life. When Castillo signed, we heard talk from scouts of 20 home run potential, and now it’s hard to ignore the ground balls.
In August, there were reports of an adjustment by Castillo to alter his swing path. Just a couple weeks ago, more talk of an adjustment, to shorten the swing to better adjust to major league velocity. Castillo, Boston’s coaching staff, or both, understand that the current swing doesn’t seem to bode well for significant offensive growth.
Shortly after the first swing path adjustment article surfaced, Castillo hit an opposite field dinger.
Look hard enough and you’ll notice some subtle changes; the hands start in a different place, the leg kick is a bit more pronounced, it’s got a bit more loft, and probably other things I don’t see because I’m speaking out of turn here. Point is: it’s a work in progress.
Seven years and $72.5 million, but the money’s already spent at this point, so there’s no worth fretting. Now, the Red Sox just want to see how much they can squeeze out of Castillo. For the bat to turn Castillo into a real threat, there’s got to be some more power, or there’s got to be some more on-base. Something’s got to give, either with the swing, or with the approach. The work is being done. So far, it’s just been tough to see. Castillo will head to Puerto Rico this winter to work on his swing skills and his adjustments at the plate.
Cleveland Indians: Could Rusney Castillo Be A Good Fit?
The Boston Red Sox have moved on from outfielder Rusney Castillo.
Does it make sense for him to end up with the Cleveland Indians?
by Ryan Rosko
According to Today’s Knuckleball and MLB.com’s Jon Heyman, the Boston Red Sox have placed Rusney Castillo on outright waivers. Castillo had signed a seven-year, $72.5 million contract with Boston in 2014.
Now that he is on waivers, Castillo’s next opportunity with a MLB team is almost guaranteed to be near the veteran minimum. It is hard to see him making at most $2 million/year at this time.
Where could Castillo end up next? How about with the Cleveland Indians? Yes, Castillo was a bust in his time in Bean Town, but a different role with a different team could be the answer.
One other factor that may have led to his struggles is the high expectations he felt in New England. That is not to say he would not be given high expectations elsewhere in the future.
Instead, Castillo could come in and be part of a contender’s team. Castillo has only appeared in nine MLB games this season. In those games, Castillo has a batting average of .250.
Castillo would be a great benefit on defense, but his bat is a work in progress. I remember prior to Boston officially signing Castillo, hearing about his great play both offensively and defensively. The potential is still there, but I am not confident that he can be anything more than a very good defensive player with average success at the plate.
For the Cleveland Indians, any and all help with their outfield should be considered. The outfielders they have been relying on with Michael Brantley out of the lineup are Tyler Naquin, Jose Ramirez, Lonnie Chisenhall, and Rajai Davis.
Naquin and Ramirez (although in likely very different roles) have bright futures ahead of them with the Cleveland Indians. Meanwhile, Davis is just trying to provide he still has something left at the tail-end of his career. Chisenhall has been average, but he needs to be replaced (regardless of the countless opportunities the Tribe has given him).
Now could Castillo really be an upgrade over Chisenhall? I would not go that far yet, but if the Cleveland Indians can go without Naquin in the lineup, then they can try to catch lightning in a bottle with Castillo.
If all would go well, Castillo would be a very solid role player coming off of the bench and as a spot duty starter. Between Ramirez, Naquin, Brantley, and in the not so distant future Bradley Zimmer and Clint Frazier, that would be his best bet to stick with the Tribe.
I am sure the Cleveland Indians front office will consider signing him for close to nothing, but at the end of the day, such a fit will not occur. Rather than have a wait and see approach with Castillo, Cleveland will stick with what they already know with the players they already have.
[ Personally, I think the thought is intriguing. Doing what I like to do, I'll keep a close watch on Castillo's winter ball attempt to retrieve the skill sets that seemed to have evaporated. We failed to sign Jorge Soler at 3 mil/year, we failed to sign Lourdes Gourriel at 3 mil/year. Here is a golden opportunity to obtain a player with impressive skill sets and we can do it for less than what Chicago paid for Soler, what Toronto paid for Gourriel. Boston would like to rid themselves of Castillo and would be willing to pay a huge part of Castillo's contract to do so. Castillo is still 27 years old with a high ceiling at bargain rates. This is an investment worth exploring in my opinion. If Castillo can't get it done in Puerto Rico, we haven't lost much. We've wasted more in free agent contracts in 2016 with less ceilings. ]
