Rusney Castillo (oblique) showed up "much improved" and "better than anticipated" Thursday, according to manager John Farrell, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Castillo (oblique) showed up "much improved" and "better than anticipated" Thursday, according to manager John Farrell, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Analysis:

This is nice to hear, after Farrell suggested Wednesday that Castillo would be down "for some time" with an oblique strain. When asked to clarify, Farrell simply said Castillo would likely be out "more than a week." While this news doesn't necessarily move up his timetable for a return to the field, it does seem as though Castillo is already responding to treatment. Castillo will compete with Mookie Betts for the starting job in center field this spring.