The Cuban Defectors Thread

[Bryants Disco Ball]

I would think the Red Sox make the least sense. They just traded for Cespedes to play LF and they have at least one if not 2 top prospects that could see time in CF in JBJ and Betts. Talent is talent, that's why the Cubs would be after him with a potential Soler/Alcantara/Bryant OF less than a year away, but I don't think it's more obvious for the Red Sox to be interested than the alternatives.

 

But Castillo can also play 2B.

 

I think it's a slam dunk he ends up with the Tigers or Red Sox.

 

From what I understand, I don't really think he can at the MLB level, and that wouldn't make a difference in the case of the Red Sox(Pedroia, Betts).

 

I don't know if that is the thought of everyone, though, as the Yanks want to sign him to be their 2B.

 

For the Red Sox, you put Betts in center and Castillo at second and you don't worry at all about JBJ, who just.....it's questionable what he even is at this point.

[Guest]

Pedroia.

[Guest]

holy [expletive] i didn't even notice the craziness that someone suggested the red sox would sign him to pay 2B

[Bryants Disco Ball]

Pedroia.

 

Screw it! Put Pedroia at SS!

[ctcf]

Peter Gammons @pgammo

One club official who has been on Rusney Castillo for a month says "no one knows who's getting him or which teams will jump in unexpectedly"

 

haha

[Guest]

Pedroia.

 

Screw it! Put Pedroia at SS!

Yeah and [expletive] Bogaerts.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Bogaerts will be traded for Hamels.

[Him]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/08/rusney-castillo-rumors-thursday.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

 

Rusney Castillo Rumors: Thursday

By Mark Polishuk [August 21, 2014 at 9:20am CDT]

 

There’s still a lot of uncertainty about where Cuban outfielder/second baseman Rusney Castillo will sign, even amongst Major League teams. An executive who has been scouting Castillo for the last month tells Peter Gammons (Twitter link) that “no one knows who’s getting him or which teams will jump in unexpectedly.” Following yesterday’s updates, here’s the latest on the Castillo sweepstakes…

 

Castillo privately worked out for the Reds and Mariners within the past week, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. The late date of these workouts was due to scheduling, Rosenthal notes, and shouldn’t be thought of as a hint that Castillo is favoring either of these two clubs. Six other teams (the Cubs, Giants, Phillies, Red Sox, Tigers and Yankees) have now had Castillo in for a private workout, Rosenthal lists.

The Red Sox are one of the three teams “most actively involved” for Castillo’s services, Rosenthal reports. Presumably the other two teams are the Tigers and Giants, as Rosenthal cited two days ago.

“There’s definitely a growing sense” the Cubs will be outbid for Castillo’s services, a source tells CSN Chicago’s Patrick Mooney. Another source predicts Castillo will receive a contract “much closer” to $68MM (what Jose Abreu received from the White Sox) than $42MM (what Yasiel Puig received from the Dodgers).

MLive.com’s Chris Iott warns that a number of hurdles will have to be jumped for Castillo to be able to contribute to a team in September. Fans also might want to temper their expectations for Castillo, as while he is expected to be ready for the majors immediately, Iott notes that it would be hard for a contender like the Tigers to just hand Castillo a starting job down the stretch in a pennant race.

[Guest]

Bogaerts will be traded for Hamels.

 

no one cares

[XZero771679666304]

Another source predicts Castillo will receive a contract “much closer” to $68MM (what Jose Abreu received from the White Sox) than $42MM (what Yasiel Puig received from the Dodgers).

 

And most indications seem to be that he will be nowhere near as good as either (this is obviously tricky to predict, but those translations were less than inspiring, to say the least). Though I can't imagine he'll get as much as Abreu.

 

I'd probably feel different if he was a SP, but while it would be nice to sign him, I just can't feel like this is a "must get" target at this point.

[Sammys Boombox]

Put me down for "Pass".

[ctcf]

Yea there's no way he's worth that much.

[Guest]

I've been thinking about how plate discipline factors into this decision recently. Obviously good plate discipline is better than bad, but look at the external acquisitions this front office has invested money, playing time, or both into:

 

Rizzo

DeJesus

Valbuena

Sweeney

Coghlan

Soler

Bryant

Schwarber

Olt

 

There's a couple counter examples like Schierholtz and Bonifacio, and Ruggiano straddles the line a bit, but by and large the ability to take pitches and work counts/walks has been very important if you want to be acquired by Theo and Jed's Cubs.

 

That makes me bit more pessimistic about Castillo being a Cub. The good news is that among the flawed OF crop there are some interesting names that control the zone, so there's options even if it's not a sexy addition.

[jersey cubs fan]

almora?

[Guest]

what was the name of the other defector who is like 5'6" and 200 lbs of muscle and never walks

[Guest]

almora?

 

I knew I'd forget somebody.

[Irrelevant Dude]

what was the name of the other defector who is like 5'6" and 200 lbs of muscle and never walks

Ryan Theriot?

[Guest]

ryan theriot is 200 lbs of muscle?

 

come on now

 

i actually think i was thinking of despaigne

[A New Era]

Yasmani Tomas and Alfredo Despainge. Tomas is the short heavy guy with lots of power, I think.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

Yasmani Tomas and Alfredo Despainge. Tomas is the short heavy guy with lots of power, I think.

 

Tomas is 6-1, 230. Both have lots of power, but Despaigne is the shorter of the two (5-8, 215).

[A New Era]

Yasmani Tomas and Alfredo Despainge. Tomas is the short heavy guy with lots of power, I think.

 

Tomas is 6-1, 230. Both have lots of power, but Despaigne is the shorter of the two (5-8, 215).

 

so Despaigne is the short guy, ok. Is Tomas the one with more power potential or Despaigne?

[Bobson Dugnutt]

BA gives Tomas a 70 grade on the 20-80 scale and Despaigne an 80, but Despaigne is going to Japan, so he doesn't matter to us.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/power-hitting-yasmani-tomas-leaves-cuba/

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/alfredo-despaigne-play-japan/

[KingCubsFan]

I originally preferred Castillo over Tomas, but now that Alcantara has shown he is more than capable in CF, and Bryant may be able to stick at 3B for a few years, Tomas or another corner OF works out just fine.

[davell]

@JesseSanchezMLB: Source: Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo on track for record-setting 6-year, $72 million deal with #RedSox. Check http://t.co/0KJkX831bj

[Clem Fandango]

Darn, looks like we'll have to trade for Stanton then.