Twins will be at Castillo's workout. Wolfson doesn't seem optimistic about our chances - it'll come down to money.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/cuban-outfield-prospect-rusney-castillo-gearing-up-to-audition-for-mlb-teams?ymd=20140719&content_id=85246578&vkey=news_mlb

 

I think Castillo was compared to Puckett in terms of body. RH OF with some power.

I was going to post something about as well. I think I'd be interested.

Baseball America had a blurb about him in a recent issue. Sounds like an interesting player - I wonder where the cost will land? Could be a nice low risk move if the money comes out right. Hopefully the Twins are players.

After the last 4 1/2 years they should be worried about getting as many good baseball players as possible and not worry so much about money, imo. The Pohlads aren't going to run out of money.

The fact that they are attending the workout at all is news - the earlier reports mentioned that the Twins were "not among the teams that have interest" for some reason.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/rusney-castillo-to-hold-showcase-next-week.html

The fact that they are attending the workout at all is news - the earlier reports mentioned that the Twins were "not among the teams that have interest" for some reason.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/rusney-castillo-to-hold-showcase-next-week.html

 

Yeah, I wish Doogie would make up his mind. He's somewhat contradicted himself with his earlier reporting from this week of no Twins interest- to now attending the workout and "monitoring" the situation- without clarification, other than that the Twins might possibly be interested if he becomes cheap enough to fall into their laps.

That may be so, but he really doesn't fit the list of needs that this team right now. I'd be more interested if he was a corner OF with a plus bat and plus power. A fast CF is something we have plenty of in the high minors, and he's not going to take a 1 year deal, so a stop gap to Buxton doesn't fit either. I wont' complain if they get him, but I don't see him being a good fit here.

I think it would be very cool to add Rusney to the Twins namebank.

That may be so, but he really doesn't fit the list of needs that this team right now. I'd be more interested if he was a corner OF with a plus bat and plus power. A fast CF is something we have plenty of in the high minors, and he's not going to take a 1 year deal, so a stop gap to Buxton doesn't fit either. I wont' complain if they get him, but I don't see him being a good fit here.

 

The other Cuban defector free agent OF fits that description better - Yasmani Tomas :

http://twinsdaily.com/showthread.php/12132-Yasmani-Tomas-defects

The other Cuban defector free agent OF fits that description better - Yasmani Tomas :

http://twinsdaily.com/showthread.php/12132-Yasmani-Tomas-defects

 

Yes, though I don't know when he will officially be an FA.

Tomas could be ready for 2015, when the Twins will be in need of corner outfielder again.

Per MLBtraderumors he will work out at SS and CF.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/latest-on-rusney-castillo.html

 

Workout is tomorrow, will be interesting to see what comes out of it. Probably a longshot, but them even going to the workout has to be good news.

The Twins have lots of SS/CF'ers already. Too bad Castillo isn't a C/RF, they've only got one of those...

OR a CF/C

Yeah, I wish Doogie would make up his mind. He's somewhat contradicted himself with his earlier reporting from this week of no Twins interest- to now attending the workout and "monitoring" the situation- without clarification, other than that the Twins might possibly be interested if he becomes cheap enough to fall into their laps.

 

He contridicted himself a ton last offseason when he was reporting that the Twins had no interest in pitcher X followed days later that the Twins were in fact meeting with pitcher X.

 

But to be fair, it might not be Doogie who needs to make up his mind but the club. After reports that the Twins had no interest, someone in the organization may have said, "Are you %&*#ing kidding me, splurge for a damn plane ticket and hotel room."

Yeah, I wish Doogie would make up his mind. He's somewhat contradicted himself with his earlier reporting from this week of no Twins interest- to now attending the workout and "monitoring" the situation- without clarification, other than that the Twins might possibly be interested if he becomes cheap enough to fall into their laps.

 

Consider the "source"

 

Definitely sounds like a great pick up if they can somehow sign him up.

Per MLBtraderumors he will work out at SS and CF.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/latest-on-rusney-castillo.html

 

Workout is tomorrow, will be interesting to see what comes out of it. Probably a longshot, but them even going to the workout has to be good news.

 

He picked those positions with the Twins in mind?

The Twins are about to shed about $10 mil in salary for the rest of the year. That could be a down payment right?

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/07/rusney-castillo-impresses-in-showcase.html

The correct way to approach this is as if Castillo is a FA.  he seems like a legit MLB starter and the Twins need OF'ers despite everyone thinking that it's an organizational strength.  This will likely still be true in two years unless multiple prospects become good in a short amount of time (usually doesn't happen but could).

 

Some think he will get 25-35M but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets 50-60M.  Imo this bidding is going to get crazy since there are teams that aren't able to spend all of the money they have.

 

FWIW - 28 teams attended the workout so it doesn't mean anything that the Twins were there.  At least they aren't 1 of the 2 teams that didn't attend the workout.

 

Imo the Twins should have more interest than they have shown since they are one of the teams that can't spend all of its money and Castillo should be good and he's 27.

Darren WolfsonVerified account ‏@DarrenWolfson

No shock: the #MNTwins are NOT one of the teams trying to line up a private workout w/ Cuban FA OF Rusney Castillo. They like. $$ too high.

 

5:19 PM - 28 Jul 2014

Darren WolfsonVerified account ‏@DarrenWolfson

No shock: the #MNTwins are NOT one of the teams trying to line up a private workout w/ Cuban FA OF Rusney Castillo. They like. $$ too high.

 

5:19 PM - 28 Jul 2014

 

 

Sadly, I'm not surprised. As soon as I read the reports of a bidding war and the asking price climbing, I knew the Twins would drop out. Yeah, many of these Cuban players are a gamble and dropping a lot of cash to sign one could turn out very badly - but I'd love it if the Twins DID gamble every now and again.

IMO that uncertainty, or gamble, is the perfect opening for a mid-market team to strike it big. I'm not saying Castillo is the guy to make a move on (I am more intrigued by Tomas personally) but they need to get a slice of this action before the rules change. Heck even the A's got a Cuban

Edited July 29, 201412 yr by Willihammer

If they can throw millions of dollars down a well for multiple years of Mike Pelfrey, why not spend $$ on a Free Agent that's still in his prime? The Twins' payroll is shrinking as they are getting younger - why not spend a little now?

Everybody loves to hate Bill Smith and he really had his faults but he did as promised when Target Field was built and that was spend some money.

 

Now with Terry  back in charge we're back to penny pinching and that promised 52% of revenue is long gone. This is a chance to get a player that could help us a lot and for only money. No need to trade prospects for the guy just money. Anyone really think Jim Pohlad and Twins don't have plenty of money to spend if they really wanted to improve this team?

Frustrating for sure.  Cuban free agents have been the safest gamble in terms of production the last half decade.  Of the bigger named players, how many have bombed so far?  Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, anyone else?  I'm sure there are more but still great odds considering the bust rate of all other avenues for getting talent.

 

Of course after years of our sports teams getting kicked in the berries repeatedly, I'm sure many of you feel the same as me.  When the Twins finally do sign a Cuban for decent money, he'll be the guy who completely falls on his face.

Well, there's always the risk that the player just doesn't meet the level of ML competition - the Twins know that all too well (Nishioka).

 

Several recent players from Cuba have made the transition from Serie Nacional to the Majors look easy - but it's never a sure thing.

 

I think it's worth taking a shot, though the Twins may have already missed out on the best options ( Cespedes, Puig, and Abreu ).

shocker, really, a true shocker TR won't pay for Cubans. I mean, he did the last few years, when great players were sitting there, right?

 

This team is shedding 10s of millions in the offseason, and they can't afford this guy? Bill Smith gets too much hate, imo. he at least tried.

Of the bigger named players, how many have bombed so far?  Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, anyone else?

Even Gonzalez wasn't that bad of a bomb -- he eventually signed for just 3 years, $12 million with a vesting option.

Everybody loves to hate Bill Smith and he really had his faults but he did as promised when Target Field was built and that was spend some money.

To be fair, outside of the Sano deal (and to a lesser extent Kepler), Smith didn't really spend much either when it necessitated bidding on an open market.  Most of his spending was contract extensions with a few lower-level free agent deals, much like TR.

 

That seems to be TR's big bugaboo -- he avoids any player acquisition method that requires bidding, regardless of player quality.  Cuba, Japan, pre-slotting drafts, pre-capped international guys -- TR has or is currently avoiding these like the plague, even though they have or previously had some of the best rates of return.

 

Even for his biggest domestic free agent signing to date (Nolasco), TR targeted and got the least-regarded guy in the group seeking 4- to 5-year deals, seemingly because he was the most willing to sign early.  And of course, all of his other FA deals have mostly been from the relative bargain bin, where the negotiating advantage is decidedly with the teams rather than the players.

 

It was encouraging to see us at least mentioned late in the Garza and Ervin Santana sweepstakes, but those were fairly long-shot offers -- until he converts on one of them, it's hard to give him much credit.

Edited July 29, 201412 yr by spycake