Rusney Castillo Sent to Pawtucket Despite Lofty Contract

The Boston Red Sox are one of the most stacked teams in the outfield in Major League Baseball. After signing Hanley Ramirez to play left field, some would argue that they have too much of a good thing. Boston will start the season with Ramirez in left, Mookie Betts in center, and Shane Victorino in right field. Allen Craig and Daniel Nava will come off the bench. That leaves no room for one player.

Rusney Castillo.

Castillo signed a seven year deal with the Red Sox after defecting from Cuba. He is due $13 million this season, and will likely be with the big club. However, right now he is blocked, and there are many reasons.

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First is the sudden emergence of Mookie Betts. Betts shot his way through the Red Sox system last season which caught many by surprise, and he played well on the MLB roster as well. Going into 2015, he was expected to platoon with both Castillo and Victorino in the outfield.

Betts has tore up Spring Training and has given the Red Sox no choice but to make Betts the starting center fielder. Meanwhile, manager John Farrell has stated Victorino is the starting right fielder and did not lose his job due to injury. Victorino has been injury prone over the past two seasons and even had some injury woes in spring training.

Victorino has been slightly disgruntled during camp, even going so far as to say Boston should trade prospects to add Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels. Fans and media alike have speculated that Castillo will be up this season as soon as Victorino makes his first DL appearance.

Castillo has minimal MLB experience, and he had injury problems of his own in spring training. Very early on he pulled an oblique and lost many at bats. If he hadn’t missed that much time, maybe he could have impressed and made the roster.

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The Red Sox have made a commitment to Castillo, and he will be a major player on the roster at some point, maybe even this season. Having too much of a good thing is never a problem, and these things tend to have a way of working themselves out. If Betts does have a breakout season as expected, the center field job is his for good. However, the corner outfielders have question marks anyways as to whether they can stay healthy, and Castillo will get his chance.