Rusney Castillo (Photo by ZONA de STRIKE via Flickr)”
The Boston Red Sox were able to agree on a contract with free agent Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo on Friday morning. The deal is worth $72.5 million over the course of seven seasons. The Detroit Tigers were also heavily involved in trying to acquire the recently defected Cuban player.
The 27-year-old will receive a physical Saturday and should be ready to go at some point this season with the Red Sox.
The 5-foot-9, 185-pound pro played five seasons in Cuba and according to scouts he is compared to Yasiel Puig and even reigning NL MVP Andrew McCutchen for his power/speed combination.
Castillo has played infield and even took balls at shortstop during his workout for teams, but he has shown great ability in the outfield, especially center. The Red Sox will likely play him at center and he might get some at-bats in the minor leagues. He should be up — at the latest — early September.