The Red Sox signed Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to a seven-year, $72.5 million contract Friday, which marks the club’s biggest foray into the international free agent market since they inked right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka to a six-year, $51.1 million deal prior to the 2007 campaign.
The scouting reports on Castillo, 27, are mixed. Baseball America‘s Ben Badler reports that some see him as an everyday ballplayer, whereas others peg him as a reserve outfielder:
Some scouts who had followed Castillo with the Cuban national team felt he would be a steady, everyday center fielder in the big leagues, while others felt he would fit best as a fourth outfielder, with good speed and defense in center field, a line-drive stroke, an aggressive hitting approach and occasional power.
The 5-foot-9, 205 pound Castillo has allegedly gained 20 pounds of muscle since he defected. Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron writes that his career could be similar to Shane Victorino’s if reports of his improved power are accurate:
The Sox were widely panned when they gave Victorino three year, $39 million deal because he didn’t have the defensive profile of a center fielder or the power of a corner-type, but these skill requirements for positions are outdated and mostly useless. If Castillo is a good enough defender to handle center field and has decent contact skills and power, that makes him an above average big leaguer, regardless of whether he fits into a specific mold.
The 33-year-old Victorino is a top-tier defender who averages 14 home runs and 30 stolen bases per season with a batting line of .277/.341/.431. He posted a career-high 5.8 WAR with the Red Sox last season.
If Castillo’s production matches those totals, then the Red Sox may have found their starting center fielder for roughly the next half-dozen years at the affordable cost of slightly more than $10 million per season.
Cuban defectors Yoenis Cespedes, Aroldis Chapman, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu contributed immediately upon arriving to the Major Leagues. Abreu, who the Red Sox showed interest in last winter, has hit 32 home runs and leads the American League in slugging percentage this season.
International free agents have proven to be wise investments over the last several years, because they often sign with big league clubs while they’re in the primes of their careers. Meaning, teams aren’t paying for past performance.
If the Red Sox have an aversion to extending themselves on the free agent market for players who are older than 30, then scouring the international market would appear to be the team’s best bet to secure talent from outside of the organization. There’s risk involved with players who have never participated in the Major League game, but it’s often offset by relatively affordable contractual commitments (the Dodgers signed Puig to a seven-year, $42 million contract in 2012, for example).
Aside from the production Castillo could provide the Red Sox, his addition also increases the amount of flexibility that the team will enjoy this upcoming off-season. The organization now has eight outfielders under contract for 2015 (Castillo, Cespedes, Victorino, Allen Craig, Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts, Brock Holt and Daniel Nava), and could be set up to explore a blockbuster trade.
The ingredients are there for general manager Ben Cherington to act boldly this winter, and Castillo’s signing might be the first of many dominos to fall.
