Yankees Look Past Castillo

The Boston Red Sox signed Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to a 7-year, $72.5 million contract on Friday. Castillo, 27, is not considered a prospect, he’s supposed to make an immediate impact in the major leagues. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding him because he is 27 years of age, he’s 5’9″, and no one really knows how good he will be. The Red Sox were clearly willing to take a chance and they believe it will pay off.

The Yankees had been interested in Castillo for a while, and attended his workout in Miami along many other teams. Castillo has drawn comparisons to other Cuban defector stars like Yasiel Puig and Yoenis Cespedes.

New York considered signing him to play second base, a position that has been a hole for the Yankees all season. The Yankees dropped out of the race to sign Castillo because of luxury tax issues. It would have cost the Yankees $36 million in taxes to sign him, raising the total cost to about $108 million which is not worth a player with so many question marks the Yankees decided.

The Yankees have decided to push forward with what they’ve got. They have showed it by winning the past four games, including a sweep of the Chicago White Sox. Martin Prado has helped the Yankees stay alive by hitting a two-run home-run and the game winning single in a 4-3 victory of the White Sox.

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