If the signings of Yasiel Puig, Jose Abreu, Aroldis Chapman and Yoenis Cespedes have shown anything it’s that there’s plenty of talent to be found in Cuba.
And if another common link connects Puig ($42-million contract), Abreu ($68 million), Chapman ($27.25 million) and Cespedes ($36 million) it’s that they’re all tremendous values relative to domestic free agents.
Given the talent to emerge from Cuba in recent years, it should come as no surprise that MLB teams are looking for the next Cuban star. Friday the Boston Red Sox reportedly agreed to terms with outfielder Rusney Castillo on a seven-year contract worth $72.5 million.
That’s more money than Abreu obtained and nearly as much as Puig and Cespedes combined. So will Castillo be the best player of them all?
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ben Badler of Baseball America reported that some scouts viewed Castillo as an everyday centre fielder, while others viewed him as a fourth outfielder. He appears to have added power of late, which improves his chances of playing everyday, but we’re not talking about a sure thing here.
Rather, the Castillo deal appears to be a market correction in response to the overwhelming success of other Cuban signings. While there’s still plenty of talent to be found in Cuba, teams are willing to spend more aggressively, so the bargains we’ve seen in recent years will be harder to uncover.
In that light paying $72 million for an everyday player in his prime is reasonable. There’s just a reduced chance it will turn into a Puig-like steal.