“There’s obviously been attention on this,” Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said Tuesday. “He’s a player that we’ve seen and have talked to, but we’re just one of several teams that have done that. There’s nothing more I can say than that. I’m not going to get into our evaluation [of Castillo] in public. Again, we’ve seen him, we’ve talked to him and we’re one of several teams that have done that. There’s not really anything else I can say.” -mlb.com
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo could sign with Boston for seven years, $72.5 million. This deal will be a record breaking pact for amateur international free agents. Even though multiple sources around baseball are reporting this deal, the club has not confirmed that any signing is imminent.
Approximately 28 teams scouted Castillo during his workout in Miami last month. The Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers were among the teams to hold private workouts for the power hitting outfielder. Castillo has not played competitive baseball in over a year. However, he is closer to big league ready than other Cuban talent that has signed with Major League teams.
Rusney Castillo is the latest in the long line of Cuban defectors making their way to the majors in recent years, and if he can come close to the success of players like Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu, the Red Sox will have made a very wise investment in signing the youngster.
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