Red Sox

Former Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo attempts a comeback, signs minor-league deal with Nationals

Rusney Castillo appeared in 99 games for the Red Sox.

By Andrew Mahoney, The Boston Globe

January 20, 2022

Former Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals earlier this month.

Castillo, 34, signed a seven-year, $72.5 million deal with the Red Sox in 2014, but never really panned out, appearing in 99 games over three seasons, batting .262 with seven home runs, last appearing in the majors in 2016.

He was taken off the big league roster so his salary would no longer counted toward their payroll for luxury tax purposes. But that loophole was closed in the next collective bargaining agreement, so if he was added to the big league roster, only to be outrighted again, his average annual salary would still be taxable. So Castillo spent his remaining time with the organization playing for Pawtucket, where he played 467 games and hit .293 with a .761 OPS and 42 home runs.

In 2021, he signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Pacific League.