Castillo was placed on outright waivers Sunday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. The 28-year-old failed to make the opening day roster and was soon demoted to Triple-A Pawtucket, where his.245 average and.624 OPS in 147 at-bats further dampened the team’s hopes in him. If you see Castillo as someone whose floor is as a versatile fourth outfielder, but who you think has the potential to be a solid starter, you might be willing to put in a claim on him.although you also might figure you’re better served letting him clear waivers, and then trying to acquire him from Boston, with the BoSox subsidizing some of his contract. Castillo was considered a five tool player, although, even at age 26, he was still a raw talent.
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That makes him a near-lock to clear waivers and be outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster.
Since being signed by the Red Sox in 2014, the former Cuban-league star is hitting.262 with seven home runs and 36 RBIs over 99 games. The Red Sox still owe him the remainder of his contract – more than $52 million guaranteed through the end of 2020 – but his salary no longer counts against the competitive-balance, or luxury, tax for payroll purposes. He made matters worse this year by spending almost the entire season in Triple-A, where he hit an even-worse.245/.304/.320.
“He was a highly touted individual coming out of Cuba”, said Dombrowski, who was the general manager of the Detroit Tigers when Castillo signed in Boston.
Despite the massive underperformance and age – he turns 29 next month – Dombrowski said an outright release of Castillo was not considered. He played in 80 games but hit just.253 with a.288 on-base percentage.
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“Roster spots are valuable”, explained Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. So it’s a situation where he’s going to need to go down and put up numbers.
