Rusney Castillo - to sign with Red Sox

[GD]

You can't support giving until he proves he is a good enough player like abreu. They must really believe he can step in immediately

 

Abreu's numbers in Cuba were just otherworldly, significantly better than Castillo. I just can't see him contributing like Abreu.

[jaysfan2014]

You can't support giving until he proves he is a good enough player like abreu. They must really believe he can step in immediately

 

Either that or Boston has no confidence in Mookie Betts(who's a 2B forced into the outfield by Pedroia) and Bradley Jr. being long term pieces for the next great Red Sox team and may be traded for a big bat or pitcher in the offseason, with the Sox unlikely to offer the money and years required for free agents this winter (Remember, they gave an insulting 4 years/$70-80M offer to Jon Lester.. not encouraging for any hopes of them getting a big name starter.)

[Atothe]

Abreu's numbers in Cuba were just otherworldly, significantly better than Castillo. I just can't see him contributing like Abreu.

 

Offensively sure but maybe they think he can shine defensively while playing multiple positions.

[Atothe]

If Bradley is available, would love the jays to make an inquiry

[jaysfan2014]

If Bradley is available, would love the jays to make an inquiry

 

Considering his offensive struggles, Boston might bite. Bradley's value is pretty low right now, even with the elite D.. we might be able to get him for a prospect or two.

[Atothe]

Considering his offensive struggles, Boston might bite. Bradley's value is pretty low right now, even with the elite D.. we might be able to get him for a prospect or two.

 

Only problem is he's a lefthanded hitter

[HERPDERP]

Why would you go after Bradley? We have a similar type of player in Gose...

[Angrioter]

Why would you go after Bradley? We have a similar type of player in Gose...

 

wut?

 

JBJ >> Gose

[Atothe]

Why would you go after Bradley? We have a similar type of player in Gose...

 

He is not similar at all, much better stats overall in the minors. I think he will be a much better hitter and equally as good defender

[glory]

Who could the Jays give up for the Red Sox to trade him and why would the Red Sox sell low on him? He seems like the ideal guy to trade in a package for a star (maybe package him with Betts). Unless the Jays want to package Bautista for those guys, it seems like an unrealistic to get him for cheap.

[Atothe]

Who could the Jays give up for the Red Sox to trade him and why would the Red Sox sell low on him? He seems like the ideal guy to trade in a package for a star (maybe package him with Betts). Unless the Jays want to package Bautista for those guys, it seems like an unrealistic to get him for cheap.

 

I would do that if they throw in Blake Swihart

[Angrioter]

Source: Jays offered 2Yrs/3M

[Angrioter]

redsoxstats

"Castillo's 60-yard dash was 6.4 to 6.5, which is a 70 on the 20-80 scale and deemed plus-plus. Said to be an expected 30+ SB player"

 

@BenBadler

"Very curious to see what the Rusney Castillo deal means for the future of Mookie Betts in Boston. Not clear where he's going to play."

 

DCameronFG

"Castillo’s reported skill set sounds awfully similar to Shane Victorino. Getting a younger Victorino for $12M a year would be a steal."

[metafour]

He is not similar at all, much better stats overall in the minors. I think he will be a much better hitter and equally as good defender

 

Not similar at all? Both are defense-first left handed hitting center fielders who have shown big swing-and-miss problems and are below average hitters.

 

Bradley Jr. will be 25 next April and he's nearing 450 career MLB at bats. Its nice that he has "better minor league stats", but that means dick all to the fact that he's not young, and to date he is no better a MLB hitter than Anthony Gose is.

[Atothe]

Not similar at all? Both are defense-first left handed hitting center fielders who have shown big swing-and-miss problems and are below average hitters.

 

Bradley Jr. will be 25 next April and he's nearing 450 career MLB at bats. Its nice that he has "better minor league stats", but that means dick all to the fact that he's not young, and to date he is no better a MLB hitter than Anthony Gose is.

 

Track records matter, not in all cases but they matter. I believe he'll get better, how much better I don't know.

[metafour]

Track records matter, not in all cases but they matter. I believe he'll get better, how much better I don't know.

 

He'll get better from what, to what? He's posting a sparkling .578 OPS this year with a 28.7% strikeout rate...last year it was .617 OPS with a 29% strikeout rate.

 

At this point, he is VERY similar to Gose. Actually, Gose is younger, strikes out less, and walks more often. So why exactly do you want to trade for Bradley Jr...because he's got better minor league stats? Maybe we should pick up Brandon Wood as well.

[GD]

Their true talent wRC+s are like 1 apart iirc

[xposbrad]

Source: Jays offered 2Yrs/3M

 

That much?

[glory]

Yeah Bradley has more upside but it's not worth trading talent for Bradley when the team is grooming Pompey for that spot anyway (nevermind Gose being a similar player to JBJ in the mean time).

 

Like I said, I think he is a throw-in in a larger deal for a star player. Maybe a starter if one becomes available.

[glory]

Source: Jays offered 2Yrs/3M

 

Was the 2nd year a team option? Otherwise that is way too many years. Not worth it.

[xposbrad]

Once again, real teams make real moves. The jays are on the sidelines and will always be. Instead they will overpay in trades for older vets. The cycle is never ending. The jays need an entirely new front office, who can build this team and position itself to compete for many years. Something that's clearly lacking right now.

[jaysfan2014]

Once again, real teams make real moves. The jays are on the sidelines and will always be. Instead they will overpay in trades for older vets. The cycle is never ending. The jays need an entirely new front office, who can build this team and position itself to compete for many years. Something that's clearly lacking right now.

 

So says fans of 29 other teams who didn't get Castillo. Real teams also don't give out $12M/year contracts to unproven talents whose stats in Cuba may not translate in the MLB. It's another reason an international draft is needed so that teams aren't throwing ridiculous sums of money like this to foreign talent.

[jaysfan2014]

You know, the Red Sox badly overpaid here. Jose Abreu of the White Sox got less money, and he's an MVP candidate! And here's a piece on Castillo, with questions whether he's an everyday player, or basically a slightly better JBJ with offense(4th OF type):

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/red-sox-sign-rusney-castillo/

[xposbrad]

So says fans of 29 other teams who didn't get Castillo. Real teams also don't give out $12M/year contracts to unproven talents whose stats in Cuba may not translate in the MLB. It's another reason an international draft is needed so that teams aren't throwing ridiculous sums of money like this to foreign talent.

 

It's not just Castillo, it's the culmination of all the IFAs that just get passed by this team. You can say Longoria signed for cheap X number of years ago. So don't compare past contracts to what's going on now. Darvish signed for cheap compared to what pitchers are getting now. That mentality will not win you championships. He's going to be a starter not a 4th OF type. And guess what, he costs no prospects or draft picks.

[jaysfan2014]

It's not just Castillo, it's the culmination of all the IFAs that just get passed by this team. You can say Longoria signed for cheap X number of years ago. So don't compare past contracts to what's going on now. Darvish signed for cheap compared to what pitchers are getting now. That mentality will not win you championships. He's going to be a starter not a 4th OF type. And guess what, he costs no prospects or draft picks.

 

Longoria was drafted by the Rays. He wasn't an IFA. And we were in the mix for Darvish.. and BTW, that contract for Darvish doesn't include the posting fee. He's actually making close to $18M if you include the fee.

[nmrch]

The Red Sox are paying Castillo to be pretty much an average everyday player, he's apparently showing more power in those BP showcases than he did during his days in Cuba, he might be worth the risk. On another note, 75 million over 6 years is pretty close to what Melky Cabrera will get and teams might have to surrender a draft pick for him.

The biggest difference was in Castillo’s power. Scouts get to watch Cuban players take batting practice at international tournaments, and Castillo showed more juice in his bat than he had before he left Cuba. Castillo always had good bat speed and could sting the ball with a line-drive approach in Cuba, but on Saturday he hit balls out to all fields, displaying plus raw power in BP. Several scouts felt Castillo took a home run derby mentality with him into his BP session instead of his standard game swing, but it worked to show some scouts they needed to adjust their grades on him.

 

“In BP he had some length in his swing, so there was pretty good loft power,” one scout said. “Then in games he shortened up his stroke and we saw the line-drive swing that we saw in the past. But he is a lot more physical than what we saw in his Cuban national days. They really did a hell of a job with the body.”

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/red-sox-sign-rusney-castillo/

[Angrioter]

The Red Sox are paying Castillo to be pretty much an average everyday player, he's apparently showing more power in those BP showcases than he did during his days in Cuba, he might be worth the risk. On another note, 75 million over 6 years is pretty close to what Melky Cabrera will get and teams might have to surrender a draft pick for him.

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/red-sox-sign-rusney-castillo/

 

BP pop (Raw pop) and power isn't the same thing

 

One time Cano told me "Ichiro have huge pop; he can hit 8/10 balls out of the park in BP"

[nmrch]

BP pop (Raw pop) and power isn't the same thing

 

One time Cano told me "Ichiro have huge pop; he can hit 8/10 balls out of the park in BP"

 

I know its not the same thing but Ben Badler quotes scouts who think they might have underestimated his power grades after seeing him in those show cases.

[Angrioter]

I know its not the same thing but Ben Badler quotes scouts who think they might have underestimated his power grades after seeing him in those show cases.

 

Excuse me for sounding repetitive, but not in real games (Travis Snider, Willy Mo Pena, Hosmer)

[nmrch]

Excuse me for sounding repetitive, but not in real games (Travis Snider, Willy Mo Pena, Hosmer)

 

I don't want to be repetitive either but it sounds like the scouts Badler talked to feel like they might have underestimated his overall power or in game power if you will.