Closing Time: Rusney Castillo can’t be far away

Sometimes the dots line up perfectly and you can sense a change is imminent. That appears to be the case with the Red Sox and their lousy right-field situation. Don’t be tripped up by the organizational quotes from recent days; teams have zero incentive to tell us the truth. The high-priced Boston offense is struggling, and the Red Sox may have reached the tipping point.

Rusney Castillo isn’t in Boston as we go to press, but it probably won’t be long before the $72 million man gets a chance to show what he can do. And this is a fantasy story worth investing in. 

The Red Sox offense has a bunch of problems at the moment; we don’t have the time to list all of them. But two of the biggest issues are a lack of offense from right field, and a lack of production against left-handed starters.

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Boston’s right fielders have a collective slash line of .152/.253/.239, putrid numbers. The .492 OPS not only is worst in the majors for the RF position, it’s a whopping 126 points from the next closest team, Pittsburgh.

The Red Sox have also been a joke against southpaw opponents. They’re hitting just .196 against lefties, with journyeman Wandy Rodriguez stopping them Thursday.

The club has tried a bunch of options, none of them consistently working. Aging Shane Victorino has made 15 starts; he’s dinged up at the moment. Daniel Nava’s slogged through 10 frustrating starts. Brock Holt, Allen Craig and Jackie Bradley Jr. have picked up right-field run, here and there.

Some of those guys make sense as utility options, but you need a better regular right fielder, especially if you fancy yourself a legitimate contender. It’s a production position. 

Injuries have held Castillo back thus far this spring. He had an oblique problem in spring training, which made it easier for the Red Sox to send him to Triple-A. Let the guy get healthy, comfortable, that sort of thing. Castillo went on to injure his shoulder in April and spent some time on the Pawtucket disabled list. He also had a minor ankle injury in the second week of May.

Between aches and pains, Castillo has acquitted himself nicely: .293/.341/.440, two homers, six steals over 18 games. He’s not tearing up the International League, but he’s done enough to throw his name on the radar.

And keep two other things in mind with Castillo: he’s already 27, and the Red Sox threw that $72 million contract at him last summer. This isn’t someone who’s supposed to need extensive seasoning in the minors; when you drop that kind of money on a mid-20s candidate, you’re expecting him to contribute quickly.

Castillo has been dropped more than added in Yahoo leagues over the past day, which makes me think the roto public is overreacting to some Boston quotes and/or getting fantasy advice from the wrong sources. Obviously Castillo won’t fix this team’s slumping offense on his own (and it’s silly some Boston writers feel the need to hot-take a column, saying that), but every possible improvement helps. And big-market teams are prone to taking action. 

Castillo is also a right-handed batter, and although his average is depressed against lefties this year (small sample and all), he’s slugging .545 against them. The Red Sox need an impact right-handed bat in the worst way. Hanley Ramirez doesn’t have an RBI in May – he certainly doesn’t look healthy right now – and Pablo Sandoval has turned into a liability against left-handed pitching. Southpaws kept Panda under the Mendoza Line last year, and he’s 2-for-42 against them this year.

I have no special contacts here, but come on, common sense is your best friend in fantasy baseball. The Red Sox can’t be stubborn forever. I’d be shocked if Castillo isn’t in The Hub before the end of May, and it seems plausible that we could see him sooner – perhaps this weekend. Boston draws two left-handed opponents in the Angels series on the weekend, and they’ll rematch Rodriguez at the end of the month.

I am not someone who barks out “stash everybody” by way of fantasy advice – that’s the easiest, most convenient slant to offer. But I do think Castillo should be immediately scooped up wherever available. Think back to the player Victorino was in 2013, a versatile slasher – that’s what Castillo might be ready to provide for us right away. There’s plausible upside here. Be proactive, while you still can. Take advantage of your trigger-happy opponent. 

• Momentum is definitely a thing with closing situations, especially when a new candidate gets the ball. With that in mind, it’s important to note how well Shawn Tolleson came out of the Boston series, closing out two straight Texas victories.

Tolleson’s Wednesday handshake was on the rockier side, but he was fairly smooth Thursday (a ringing David Ortiz double was followed by a pop-up and two strikeouts). If your league is slow to react to the save chase, please note Tolleson (and his zesty strikeout rate) can still be added in 82 percent of Yahoo leagues. 

• The Arizona bullpen could get complicated again, as all of a sudden everyone is pitching well.

Enrique Burgos scored a couple of saves earlier in the week, in part because the workload of others fell into place. But for Thursday’s victory at Miami, the Snakes used Addison Reed in the eighth (scoreless inning, 2 Ks) and Brad Ziegler for the ninth (scoreless inning, 2 Ks). Both relievers had rocking-chair innings, throwing just 20 pitches between them. Ziegler gets extra credit for navigating the middle of the order, starting with a strikeout of Giancarlo Stanton.

I’m not ready to add Reed on any of my teams, but Ziegler’s ground-ball clip and Burgos’s strikeout rate both have some currency for the ninth. Place your bets.  

• We’ve become accustomed to Cameron Maybin letting us down for fantasy purposes, so I don’t blame anyone who’s ignored his snappy May to this point (.315/.403/.444, one homer, three steals). Most of his production has come at the bottom of the Atlanta order, but he was promoted to the two-slot for Thursday and posted a useful 4-3-1-2 line (with another bag).

Perhaps Maybin can mark his territory in this new assignment. If you need deep-league help in the outfield, Maybin awaits the call in 98 percent of Yahoo leagues. 

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