The Boston Red Sox recalled outfielder Rusney Castillo from Triple-A Pawtucket early Friday afternoon, and he is expected to start Friday night in right field. Outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr., slick with the leather but soft with the lumber, was option to Triple-A to make room on the major league roster.
Signed last season to a $72 million contract, the highly-touted Cuban prospect should provide an immediate boost to an offense starved for run production. After adding Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval in the offseason to an offense that already featured David Ortiz, Mike Napoli, and Dustin Pedroia, many expected the Sox’ offense to be among the most potent in all of baseball. After a good start to the season, the last few weeks have seen Boston mired in a horrible team-wide slump, especially against left-handed pitchers. While the players claim they are not worried, it was clear that something had to be done.
Castillo has been dominant for the PawSox. In 18 games this season, he owns a .293 batting average, along with two home runs and 10 runs batted in. He is also dangerous on the basepaths; Castillo swiped six bags and was caught just twice in Triple-A.
As a team, the Sox are batting just .233 overall, with a .312 on-base percentage and a .367 slugging percentage. Against left-handed opponents, the team is hitting just .198. While the call-up of Castillo does not immediately solve all of these issues, it is certainly a step in the right direction. In addition to his stellar batting average, Castillo also owns a .344 OBP and is slugging .440. His right-handed approach should also help against those troublesome southpaws.
Again, however, Castillo’s presence does not immediately eliminate the offense’s issues; it is likely that more moves are coming. Whether that means bringing up more prospects (such as fellow Cuban Yoan Moncada, who just joined Single-A Greenville but is already living up to his great promise) or making a trade before the deadline, the 2015 Sox are far from a finished product.
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