Report: Red Sox agree to record-breaking deal with Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo
The Boston Red Sox and Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo reached an agreement on a seven-year, $72.5 million deal Friday, a club source told ESPN's Gordon Edes.
It's the largest contract, in terms of total salary, ever paid for a free-agent amateur player.
More details from Edes at ESPNBoston.com:
The contract begins this season, the source said, which makes the average annual value of the deal (for luxury-tax purposes) $10.36 million, a tick below the $11.3 million AAV of the six-year, $68 million deal that Cuban slugger Jose Abreu signed with the Chicago White Sox last winter. Castillo's deal runs through the 2020 season.
Castillo has drawn comparisons from Andrew McCutchen to fellow countryman Yasiel Puig, and is expected to find a place in Boston's crowded outfield, possibly as early as this season.
"Above-average speed. Can play center field or right field. What kind of power? What kind of average? Obviously our scouts liked him enough, if the reports are true, that's a significant investment," manager John Farrell said Friday. "It's an exciting, athletic player by all accounts."
ESPN's Pedro Gomez reports the 27-year-old is on his way to Boston and scheduled to undergo a physical Saturday.