Rusney Castillo on outright waivers, per Jon Heyman

Rusney Castillo, the Boston Red Sox outfielder who was signed out of Cuba to a 7 year, $72.5 million contract in August, 2014, has been placed on outright waivers, according to Jon Heyman.  Outrighting Castillo would allow the Red Sox to remove him from their 40 man roster, although it also means that he can be claimed by any of the other 29 teams.

Which, as Heyman notes, is the point of putting him on outright waivers...Castillo, who turns 29 in July, has been a disappointment for Boston, putting up a .262/.301/.379 slash line in 337 major league plate appearances.  Castillo seems to be something of a tweener outfielder...a good defender in a corner spot who doesn't hit well enough to play a corner outfield position as a starter, and not a good enough defender to be a starting center fielder.

Castillo's contract was the biggest ever at the time for a Cuban player, and he's owed $10.5M this year and next year, $11M in 2018 and 2019, and $13.5M in 2020.  With nowhere to play him, Boston would no doubt be thrilled if a team decided he was a worthwhile risk to take a flyer on, and really, in the current financial climate, $11M per year isn't an outrageous sum for a non-star.  If you see Castillo as someone whose floor is as a versatile fourth outfielder, but who you think has the potential to be a solid starter, you might be willing to put in a claim on him...although you also might figure you're better served letting him clear waivers, and then trying to acquire him from Boston, with the BoSox subsidizing some of his contract.