BOSTON - The Red Sox $72.5 million dollar man was not a part of the team's Opening Day ceremonies on Monday.
Rusney Castillo did not make the Red Sox 25-man roster out of spring training, as an oblique strain coupled with too many Sox outfielders put him behind the bunch.
He's in Pawtucket with the team's AAA affiliate PawSox - or was, before a shoulder injury put him on the shelf a bit. He'll now hang with the big league club in Boston and get treatment until he's ready to go again. Yes, Castillo has had a rough go of things to begin 2015, but the good news on the shoulder injury is that it's nothing too serious, despite the fact he was placed on the disabled list.
Red Sox GM Ben Cherington joined the guys on WEEI's Dennis and Callahan Show (featuring Gary Tanguay!) on Thursday, and was asked when Castillo will join the Red Sox lineup. As of now, however, there's no timetable for his call-up.
“Well we have to get him back in the Pawtucket lineup first," Cherington said. "He has a shoulder injury. The prognosis was really very good on it. Made a great diving play and jammed his shoulder but no real damage. He's just got to rest and get back in there. It shouldn't be too long. That has to happen first.
"Once that happens, I think clearly given the investment, and more importantly given what we’ve seen from him since we’ve signed him last summer, over the winter, and into spring training we feel like this guy is going to be a very good major league player. So it is just a matter of opportunity and we don’t know exactly when that opportunity is going to open up, but inevitably it will. It's just the way it works in the game. Good players get an opportunity sooner or later and inevitably that will happen. Assuming he’s healthy and on the field he’s going to make a contribution at some point this year, but I don’t know when.”
Castillo played in nine spring training games, batting .310 (9-for-29) with two home runs, five RBI, and six runs.
But even when Castillo is healthy, and even if he's raking down in the minors, something has to give up in Boston. The team is working Shane Victorino back to everyday playing time in right field, though he's been slow out of the gates with a .130 average. As it is, they can't find enough at-bats for Allen Craig, a player who just two seasons ago went to the All-Star game and hit .315 with 97 RBI. There's also the left-handed Daniel Nava, who is off to a nice start to the season, batting .333 with five RBI. And don't forget Jackie Bradley Jr. also down in Pawtucket.
So have there been any calls to or from the Sox on the team's plethora of outfielders?
"It's early, so I think you have a handful of conversations. Obviously conversations in the winter," Cherington said. "During spring training you talk to teams, but it tends to be more information-sharing and you may be trying to round out the margins of your roster and things like that. Unless you're the Padres I guess, there's not too many times where big deals [are made] during spring training. Teams want to get into the season. At least history says teams like to get into the season and at least give it a couple months, kind of see what they have before making moves and I would expect this season would be the same. So there really hasn't been a lot of conversation yet. I think as we get deeper into the season, get into June and past the draft, I'm sure those things will start picking up."