Rusney Castillo isn’t content with the player he is right now.
The Red Sox outfielder came to Boston on a seven-year, $72.5 million contract after defecting from Cuba in 2014 and so far hasn’t lived up to the .318 batting average and .883 OPS he compiled over five seasons in the Cuban National Series. And after Brock Holt was named the starting left fielder for Opening Day, Castillo is out to prove himself.
“I really want to go back to who I was in Cuba,” Castillo told the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato on Wednesday, through translator Davison Perez. “This year, I’m focused on proving myself not only to the organization, but to the Red Sox fans, to show them I am the same player I was in Cuba. My goal is simple: I want to show that to the fans and to the organization, and I want to reach the World Series.”
Castillo only has managed a .262 average, .680 OPS and 35 RBIs in 90 major league games over two seasons in Boston. He admitted his shortcomings have something to do with the fact that he’s still adjusting to American baseball.
“I’ve been working a lot with (hitting coach Chili Davis and assistant Victor Rodriguez) on shortening up my swing, because in Cuba often times us players have a longer swing, a wider swing,” Castillo said. “So I’ve been working with Chili and Victor about closing that up, being quicker to the ball. And I think it’s given me some good results in terms of catching up to the pitches they’re throwing me.”
His play certainly has been disappointing, given the Red Sox had to win a bidding war to acquire Castillo, but losing out on the starting job only is going to make the 28-year-old work harder.
“There’s no disappointment,” Castillo said. “I’m trying my best not to focus on any of the negatives. My goal is to be on this team, help this team win. But at the end of the day, it’s up to me through my performance to get the starting spot. And I’m going to work hard to obtain that.”
Thumbnail photo via Steve Mitchell/USA TODAY Sports Images
