The Nationals released Castillo last week, Kyle Glaser of Baseball America reports.
Castillo, who memorably signed a seven-year, $72.5 million contract with the Red Sox in August 2014 before losing his spot on the 40-man roster just under two seasons later, hasn't appeared in the majors since 2016. After spending the 2021 campaign in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, Castillo returned to North America this winter, signing with the Nationals on a minor-league deal. Ultimately, the Nationals weren't willing to dedicate a roster spot at Triple-A Rochester to a 34-year-old outfielder, who may have to look outside of affiliated ball if he desires to keep his career going.
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Nationals' Rusney Castillo: Returns to MLB
Rotowire
Castillo signed a minor-league contract with the Nationals on Thursday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.
Castillo played abroad for the last three seasons, primarily in Mexico and Japan. He'll now return to the majors after posting a .262/.301/.379 line across 337 plate appearances with the Red Sox from 2014 to 2016. Though it's unclear how the Nationals may add to their roster during the rest of the offseason, Castillo could serve as a bench piece for the club -- particularly if the designated hitter is instituted in the National League.
Castillo signed with the NPB's Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles on Saturday.
Castillo appeared in just 99 games at the big-league level from 2014 to 2016, hitting a modest .262/.301/.379, though he could potentially have gotten more opportunities as at least a bench piece if not for an odd contract situation which gave the Red Sox strong incentives to keep him off the 40-man roster. Even if he looks good with regular at-bats in Japan, his MLB days are likely over, as he'll turn 34 in July.
Castillo (groin) will start in right field Sunday in Triple-A Pawtucket's game against Syracuse.
Castillo made his season debut for Pawtucket in Saturday's doubleheader, playing both ends and finishing 1-for-6 with a walk and a run scored. His ability to play on back-to-back days suggests he's moved past the groin injury that sidelined him for a portion of Boston's Grapefruit League slate.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Shipped to minors
Rotowire
The Red Sox assigned Castillo (groin) to their minor-league camp Tuesday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
The Red Sox abandoned hope of getting any kind of value from Castillo long ago and are simply waiting for his seven-year, $72.5 million contract to come off the books at the conclusion of the 2020 season. Castillo, who was limited to one Grapefruit League appearance due to the groin injury, will report to Triple-A Pawtucket once healthy and will likely remain with the affiliate for the entire campaign.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Dealing with minor groin issue
Rotowire
Castillo has a right groin injury and won't play for at least three days, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
The issue is reportedly not particularly serious and should leave Castillo plenty of time to get in game shape by Opening Day. He's unlikely to spend that day on the big-league roster despite a strong .319/.360/.416 slash line at Triple-A Pawtucket last season.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Playing well at Triple-A
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Castillo was named the International League Player of the Week, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
Castillo is hitting a solid .316/.345/.436 on the season for Triple-A Pawtucket, following a 2017 campaign in which he hit .314/.350/.507 at the same level. Ordinarily, those numbers would leave a player on the brink of a promotion, but for a 30-year-old who's owed $35.5 million through 2020, there's little reason for the Red Sox to bring him up and add him to their luxury tax bill. His strong performance means there's at least a chance that another team will take a chance on him, but there won't be a long line of organizations queuing up for a player who's made just eight major-league plate appearances since 2015.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Gets spring invite from Red Sox
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Castillo has been invited to the Red Sox's major-league camp this spring, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.
Castillo will get a look during spring after spending the entire 2017 campaign with Triple-A Pawtucket. He hit a respectable .314/.350/.507 with 15 homers and 14 stolen bases in 87 games for the PawSox, but still didn't receive a September callup because he would have pushed Boston over the luxury tax threshold last season. Castillo's strong 2017 season offers some hope moving forward, though even if he breaks camp with the Red Sox in 2018, he won't be more than the team's right-handed reserve outfielder.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Healthy again
Rotowire
Castillo (groin) was activated off the 7-day disabled list last week and reinstated to Triple-A Pawtucket. He went 4-for-20 over five games since being activated.
Castillo didn't play Thursday but did go 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI in Wednesday's Triple-A All-Star Game. He has hit .302/.339/.473 in 65 games for the PawSox in 2017.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Bound for 7-day DL
Rotowire
Castillo will be placed on the 7-day disabled list at Triple-A Pawtucket with a groin strain, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.
Castillo suffered the injury during Wednesday's game, leaving after singling in his second at-bat. The good news is that the injury is minor, so he should be back on the field after a few days of rest, but it puts an unexpected halt to a very productive season for the outfielder. Heading into Thursday, the 29-year-old is slashing .311/.348/.496 with nine home runs, yet remains organizational depth behind a well-established Red Sox outfield.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Leaves game with groin injury
Rotowire
Castillo left Wednesday's Triple-A game with groin tightness, Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal reports.
Castillo felt the groin grab on him after he stroked a single to left field. He's been red hot of late, hitting safely in 18 of the last 19 at a .420 clip (29-for-69).
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Back in action at Triple-A
Rotowire
Castillo (leg) is back in action at Triple-A Pawtucket. He is hitting .273/.299/.472 with seven home runs and seven stolen bases in 161 at-bats this season.
While those numbers are solid, they are hardly impressive, given Castillo's age (29) and pedigree ($72.5 million bonus in 2014). He does not appear to be particularly close to returning to any kind of prominent role in the big leagues.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Day-to-day after HBP
Rotowire
Castillo exited Tuesday's game after being hit by a pitch on the leg and he is considered day-to-day, Brendan McGair of the Pawtucket Red Sox reports.
According to McGair, Castillo briefly stayed in the game after being hit by the pitch, but his leg eventually started to tighten up on him. Even if Pawtucket opts to keep Castillo out of the lineup Wednesday, he likely won't be out for long. Castillo is slashing .275/.299/.472 with six home runs at Triple-A this season.
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Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Reassigned to minor league camp
Rotowire
Castillo was reassigned to the Red Sox's minor league camp Sunday, freelance Red Sox writer Maureen Mullen reports.
The Red Sox are still paying big money for Castillo after doling out a six-year, $72.5 million contract to the Cuban import back in 2014, but the team views him as a sunk cost at this point and is only keeping him around for organizational depth. He'll likely spend another season at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he slashed .263/.309/.354 with two homers and nine stolen bases in 429 plate appearances in 2016.
Red Sox's Rusney Castillo: Fails to impress club with Thursday effort
Rotowire
Manager John Farrell said Castillo was "disappointing" during exhibition play Thursday when he jogged down the line on a double-play groundball, because he lost track of the outs and it didn't appear he was showing effort despite battling for a roster spot, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com reports.
Castillo's stock has plummeted since 2015, when he was pegged as a potential breakout candidate. Fantasy players know that never happened, as the Cuban has toiled away in the doghouse and with a .262/.301/.379 line in his short career. Boston's outfield is cemented with Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley and Mookie Betts, so Castillo may need a fresh start with another organization to have any hope for fantasy leagues.
