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What to do with Rusney Castillo
steveofbradenton
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Watching Spring Training, the FCL, and the Florida State League
Posts: 1,823
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Post by steveofbradenton on Jun 21, 2015 12:29:20 GMT -5
As you all know, Rusney Castillo was signed for some big bucks ($72.5 Million) and we have control of him till 2020. It does seem like one thing after another keeps happening to this soon to be 28 year old outfielder. I believe he did a lot of things right last year. He played at several different levels before making a short cameo in Boston at the end of the year. He went to the Arizona Winter League and played ball in the Puerto Rico league also.
Alex Cora had glowing things to say about him as a player and as a teammate. He really seemed to feel he was going to be a solid major contributor for the Red Sox. He had a late start due to injury and seemed to have found his "groove" and was prompted to Boston this season. His play has been a disappointment for everyone so far. For me, his fielding really worries me also....as his reads and routes have been poor.
Since most of us agree that the Sox don't look like a contender this year, what should be our expectations for Rusney this year....and maybe more importantly....next season. Do you see him playing for us? Do you see him having a real impact? Should Farrell be playing him more? A lot more?
His approach at the plate has been poor. He often is too aggressive and takes few pitches. Maybe he just needs repetition and seeing more secondary pitches. I don't know the answer. I was sure hoping for, at least, a competent base runner, fielder, and a decent bat. I really thought he would give us a line close to
.270/.330/.425. I thought he had a good chance of hitting 15+ homers and 30+ doubles. No where do I see this player currently.
Should we run him out there every day?
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Post by ray88h66 on Jun 21, 2015 12:39:06 GMT -5
Doesn't really matter what anyone thinks. He's signed, the money is committed. Just have to hope for the best. I'd play him everyday, but the team can't throw in the towel for a month or so in this market.
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Post by soxcentral on Jun 21, 2015 15:18:06 GMT -5
I agree with Steve that there was a lot of build up over the last year, right up to the ST injury, that made it seem like Rusney would be a productive player. But yeah lately he appears to be a mess.
Perhaps that has to do with not playing a lot? Seems like there might be a correlation between someone who hasn't played a lot of baseball in the last couple years and taking poor routes, having bad strike zone judgment, etc. He and Moncada need playing time, and lots of it.
Just send him down if he isn't going to play and force him to earn his spot in Boston if you aren't willing to work through the transition. But don't give up on him so fast, I think he's still a solid contributor for us in the very near future.
Side note....that reference by Alex Cora also made me think that he might be a guy to get more out of this roster than the current manager.
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Post by blizzards39 on Jun 21, 2015 17:37:52 GMT -5
You have to remember that he hasn't played a lot of baseball over the last couple years. He still has a lot of talent. One way of another he has to get regular at bats whether that is in Boston or Pawtucket.
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Post by mattpicard on Jun 21, 2015 17:54:46 GMT -5
There's a universal consensus that he needs to play, whether that be at AAA or with Boston. I'm of the belief that Alejandro De Aza should very rarely be playing over him, unless it's a against a murderous right-on-right guy like Darren O'Day. If we had a healthy infield, and RF was essentially a Brock Holt/Shane Victorino platoon, then you're probably best served sending Castillo down. But right now, there's an opportunity for him, although Farrell isn't allowing him to take advantage of it. So, maybe you just have to send him down.
With that said, I don't think anyone would be shocked to see him succeed in Pawtucket, and with Boston on the brink of acknowledging a lost season (in terms of making the playoffs), I think I'd rather see Rusney try to iron out the kinks with the big club. He hasn't had nearly enough plate appearances, in my opinion, to say he's so lost that he needs to be sent down ASAP. Fragility and performance and all, I would love to see him get several starts in a row, regardless of the results, and hope he can find a groove.
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Post by edmundsoxtusmuskie on Jun 21, 2015 19:33:32 GMT -5
He obviously needs to play everyday. Whether it be in Pawtucket or Boston, he needs to play everyday. I know it's been said before, but De Aza should have only been used as a defensive substitution for Hanley or a left-handed bat off the bench when somebody like Sandy Leon is playing. The main problem with Rusney's offensive performance is that his weaknesses are known. At the end of last year, pichers took a generic approach to pitching him. Now, they know what he can't hit and that's what they throw. He's yet to adjust to that. As a result, his pitch judgement looks a lot worse than it actually is. He swings at pitches outside of the zone about thirty percent of the time and swings, in general, about 49 percent of the time while his strikeout percentage is on par with what it was last year. The amount of swings he takes outside of the zone isn't even close to being obscenely high, compared to the rest of the league and his swinging percentage is equivalent to that of Bogaerts. In other words, he's not swinging at everything. His problem now is that he's not getting the contact he should. He's getting groundballs about 60% of the time, which can be attributed to the limited number of at-bats he's had in the big leagues. He's not completely broken. His strikeout percentage didn't skyrocket from last year. He's had a limited role and the pressure of a huge contract weighing on him. He needs to know that the Red Sox are confident in his ability to be their everyday Right Fielder.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Jun 21, 2015 22:52:11 GMT -5
There's a universal consensus that he needs to play, whether that be at AAA or with Boston. I'm of the belief that Alejandro De Aza should very rarely be playing over him, unless it's a against a murderous right-on-right guy like Darren O'Day. If we had a healthy infield, and RF was essentially a Brock Holt/Shane Victorino platoon, then you're probably best served sending Castillo down. But right now, there's an opportunity for him, although Farrell isn't allowing him to take advantage of it. So, maybe you just have to send him down. With that said, I don't think anyone would be shocked to see him succeed in Pawtucket, and with Boston on the brink of acknowledging a lost season (in terms of making the playoffs), I think I'd rather see Rusney try to iron out the kinks with the big club. He hasn't had nearly enough plate appearances, in my opinion, to say he's so lost that he needs to be sent down ASAP. Fragility and performance and all, I would love to see him get several starts in a row, regardless of the results, and hope he can find a groove. Any guesses why Farrell isnt playing him in right? |
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Post by mattpicard on Jun 21, 2015 23:05:07 GMT -5
There's a universal consensus that he needs to play, whether that be at AAA or with Boston. I'm of the belief that Alejandro De Aza should very rarely be playing over him, unless it's a against a murderous right-on-right guy like Darren O'Day. If we had a healthy infield, and RF was essentially a Brock Holt/Shane Victorino platoon, then you're probably best served sending Castillo down. But right now, there's an opportunity for him, although Farrell isn't allowing him to take advantage of it. So, maybe you just have to send him down. With that said, I don't think anyone would be shocked to see him succeed in Pawtucket, and with Boston on the brink of acknowledging a lost season (in terms of making the playoffs), I think I'd rather see Rusney try to iron out the kinks with the big club. He hasn't had nearly enough plate appearances, in my opinion, to say he's so lost that he needs to be sent down ASAP. Fragility and performance and all, I would love to see him get several starts in a row, regardless of the results, and hope he can find a groove. Any guesses why Farrell isnt playing him in right? |
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Post by ethanbein on Jun 21, 2015 23:22:27 GMT -5
Horrible. How is he supposed to adjust if he never plays against righties on a team that's of the playoff hunt? The only reason it could make sense to bench him on this team would be if they'd decided that he will never be an every day player and just treated the contract as a sunk cost, but how could their opinion of him changed that much over 76 PAs this year? Between this year and last, he's got an 88 wRC+ in 116 PAs. Not great, and worse this year, but not enough that their opinion of him should change much. I wasn't a huge fan of the signing initially, given his mediocre Cuban stats, but if the FO was a fan of him a year ago they should still be a fan of him now, and he should be playing. Also, if Castillo really is going to be sitting against lefties, why not bring up JBJ and let him play? I'd probably project him to be a better overall player than De Aza, and obviously he has a better chance of being a part of the future for this team. None of the way this is being handled makes any sense. |
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Post by gator39 on Jun 21, 2015 23:55:52 GMT -5
As much as we may think the Red Sox don't stand a chance the front office & especially Farrell aren't gonna give up on the season yet. Farrell is gonna play the guys he thinks gives the team the best chance to win & right now that's clearly not Castillo. I'm pretty sure Castillo will end up back in the minors when Victorino comes back.
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Post by okin15 on Jun 22, 2015 4:32:58 GMT -5
Also, if Castillo really is going to be sitting against lefties, why not bring up JBJ and let him play? I'd probably project him to be a better overall player than De Aza, and obviously he has a better chance of being a part of the future for this team. None of the way this is being handled makes any sense. Yeah, this part especially. JBJ has to be better than De Aza, no? |
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Post by jerrygarciaparra on Jun 22, 2015 4:56:46 GMT -5
As much as we may think the Red Sox don't stand a chance the front office & especially Farrell aren't gonna give up on the season yet. Nor should they...Castillo has 6.5 years to prove his worth or lack thereof. |
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steveofbradenton
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Watching Spring Training, the FCL, and the Florida State League
Posts: 1,823
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Post by steveofbradenton on Jun 22, 2015 6:45:55 GMT -5
The bottom-line for me is Rusney HAS to play everyday.....everyday. Even his routes in the outfield will improve, if he plays everyday. It would not be the worse thing in the world for him to go down for 4 to 6 weeks. Even his limited time in AAA was interrupted this year because of the shoulder injury. He hasn't played much for a while.
They are wasting this asset at this time. Not playing and not progressing. Not a good way to play this.
I'm also in the camp for bringing up Bradley and giving him a REAL opportunity! Lets see what adjustments he has made. It is possible that Jackie can at least hit .250 - .260, and with the rest of his game be a big plus. And, another bonus of his showing positive change is he will drastically improve as a trade chip.
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Post by soxfan1615 on Jun 22, 2015 7:45:03 GMT -5
Also, if Castillo really is going to be sitting against lefties, why not bring up JBJ and let him play? I'd probably project him to be a better overall player than De Aza, and obviously he has a better chance of being a part of the future for this team. None of the way this is being handled makes any sense. Yeah, this part especially. JBJ has to be better than De Aza, no? I'm not so sure about that. De Aza was around a 2 WAR player for 3 years in a row before this year. I have no faith JBJ can be better than that |
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jun 22, 2015 8:10:22 GMT -5
Play him every day.
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Post by jimed14 on Jun 22, 2015 9:38:44 GMT -5
Also, if Castillo really is going to be sitting against lefties, why not bring up JBJ and let him play? I'd probably project him to be a better overall player than De Aza, and obviously he has a better chance of being a part of the future for this team. None of the way this is being handled makes any sense. Yeah, this part especially. JBJ has to be better than De Aza, no? I just want to point out that De Aza isn't a bad player at all. |
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Jun 22, 2015 9:44:01 GMT -5
I still think Castillo is a good fielder. He's made a couple bonehead plays, but that'll happen with his time off while coming to America coupled with inconsistent playing time between injuries and management decisions. He's going to bring the same value than De Aza, likely more. He should be playing every day.
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Post by ethanbein on Jun 22, 2015 10:29:55 GMT -5
Yeah, this part especially. JBJ has to be better than De Aza, no? I just want to point out that De Aza isn't a bad player at all. Steamer projects De Aza at about -5 Runs Above Average per 600 PA, Bradley at roughly 0 (though a low number of projected PAs makes rounding an issue). At the very least, it's hard to make a case that De Aza is clearly better. |
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Post by jimed14 on Jun 22, 2015 10:49:31 GMT -5
I just want to point out that De Aza isn't a bad player at all. Steamer projects De Aza at about -5 Runs Above Average per 600 PA, Bradley at roughly 0 (though a low number of projected PAs makes rounding an issue). At the very least, it's hard to make a case that De Aza is clearly better. You don't really have to make a case if the difference isn't huge. It's one thing if we're giving up on the season now, but I don't think that's the case yet. We probably still are preserving the depth. |
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Post by cba82 on Jun 22, 2015 11:25:54 GMT -5
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steveofbradenton
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Watching Spring Training, the FCL, and the Florida State League
Posts: 1,823
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Post by steveofbradenton on Jun 22, 2015 14:26:06 GMT -5
That is fine by me......just run him out there every game. His "window" is quite a bit smaller than our 22 and 23 year olds. |
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Jun 22, 2015 18:46:27 GMT -5
Yeah the Sox wouldn't want to jeopardize their lead in the division by... wait, what? |
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Post by grandsalami on Jun 23, 2015 15:07:58 GMT -5
“@sean_McAdam: Appears Rusney Castillo has been optioned to Pawtucket.”
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Post by ethanbein on Jun 23, 2015 15:14:41 GMT -5
“@sean_McAdam: Appears Rusney Castillo has been optioned to Pawtucket.” Not what I'd do, but definitely better than riding the bench in Boston. I hope this doesn't last too long though - if it's after the trade deadline and this team hasn't made a huge run, he really should be back up. |
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Post by okin15 on Jun 23, 2015 15:16:52 GMT -5
“@sean_McAdam: Appears Rusney Castillo has been optioned to Pawtucket.” Not what I'd do, but definitely better than riding the bench in Boston. I hope this doesn't last too long though - if it's after the trade deadline and this team hasn't made a huge run, he really should be back up. Alex Speier @alexspeier Rusney Castillo is packing in the Red Sox clubhouse; presumably, getting sent to minors. Only thing that makes sense right now. His contract is a sunk cost, and this is the best way to get future value out of him. As noted, he needs to play every day. Only question is whether they have the best MLB team right now, and really, they still may, and it won't be long before Shanf is back anyway. |
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