Rusney Castillo

Rusney Castillo Peraza (born July 9, 1987) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. Listed at and , he bats and throws right handed.

Castillo was born in Ciego de Ávila, a city located in the central part of Cuba and the capital of Ciego de Ávila Province. At age 22, he showed enough skills to land a spot on Los Tigres, the nickname for Ciego de Ávila's club in the Cuban National Series. Additionally, he played with the Cuba national baseball team in several international tournaments, including the 2011 Baseball World Cup and the 2011 Pan American Games, before defecting from Cuba in December 2013 to pursue an MLB career.

Cuban baseball career Castillo joined the Ciego de Ávila team in the 2008–2009 season, playing for them through 2012–2013. Used sparingly during his first two seasons, he played only 28 games in his rookie year and 44 as a sophomore, while hitting averages of .349 (15-for-43) and .303 (30-for-99), respectively. He spent most of his time playing second base, third base, and the corner outfield positions, until becoming a solid center fielder in the years to come.

His breakout season came in 2010–2011, when he got a major boost in playing time and posted a .320 average with 22 home runs and 95 runs batted in in 107 games, including 75 runs scored, 27 doubles, five triples, and a league-lead 32 stolen bases.

Castillo also played in the 2011 Pan American Games hosted by Mexico, where he hit .273 (6-for-22) and slugged .318 with a .333 OBP. In the same year, he played in the World Port Tournament in the Netherlands. Then, in 2012 he appeared in exhibition baseball series held at Nicaragua, Taiwan, Japan and Cuba, where he faced the U.S. College National Team, in preparation for the upcoming 2013 World Baseball Classic. Castillo was originally slated to be part of the team, but he did not make the final cut. According to an official statement released, he was suspended for trying to defect.

Finally, Castillo attempted to leave Cuba once more, and was successful. In early June 2014, he was granted official free agent status by Major League Baseball after establishing permanent residency in the Dominican Republic and being unblocked by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Castillo made his major league debut on September 17, 2014, as the Red Sox starting center fielder; he collected his first MLB hit in the fourth inning, a single off of Francisco Liriano. Castillo appeared in a total of 10 games with the 2014 Red Sox, batting 12-for-36 (.333) with two home runs and six RBIs.

Castillo started the 2015 season with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, where he appeared in 40 games, batting .282 with three home runs and 17 RBIs. He was called up to Boston in the second half of May; he appeared in 80 MLB games for the Red Sox, batting .253 with five home runs and 29 RBIs.

Castillo spent most of the 2016 season with Triple-A Pawtucket; he made only nine appearances with Boston, one in April and eight in June, batting 2-for-8 (.250) without a home run or RBI.

Overall, in parts of three seasons with Boston (2014–2016), Castillo appeared in 99 MLB games, batting .262 with 7 home runs and 35 RBIs.

Minor leagues On June 18, 2016, Castillo was put on waivers by the Red Sox; he cleared waivers on June 20 and was outrighted to Pawtucket, where he spent the rest of the season. He appeared in a total of 103 Triple-A games during 2016, batting .263 with two home runs and 34 RBIs. appearing in 117 games while batting .319 with five home runs and 59 RBIs. and his .319 average led the International League.

After being a non-roster invitee to Boston's 2019 spring training, Castillo started the 2019 season as the oldest player on Pawtucket's roster. With the 2019 PawSox, Castillo appeared in 120 games, batting .278 with 17 home runs and 64 RBIs. After the 2019 season, Castillo did not exercise an opt-out clause in his contract, thus remaining in Boston's minor league system for 2020, the final season of his seven-year contract with the Red Sox. He was again a non-roster invitee to Boston's spring training, but did not play outside of spring training, due to the 2020 minor league season being cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 28, 2020, Castillo's contract with the Red Sox expired, making him a free agent.

Overall, in five seasons with Pawtucket (2015–2019), Castillo appeared in 467 minor league games, batting .293 with 42 home runs and 217 RBIs. The Red Sox kept Castillo in Triple-A in part because adding him back to the active roster would add his salary back to luxury tax calculations, which would cost the team $3 million per year.

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles On January 9, 2021, Castillo signed a $600,000 contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). On April 23, 2021, he made his NPB debut. Castillo played in 33 games, hitting .225 with one home run and three RBIs. He became a free agent following the season.

Long Island Ducks On January 20, 2022, Castillo signed a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals. Castillo was released by the Nationals on March 29.

On April 22, 2022, Castillo signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Castillo posted a .278/.329/.366 slash line with three home runs and 24 RBI in 57 games before he was released on July 7.

Staten Island FerryHawks On July 11, 2022, Castillo signed with the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League. Castillo played in 43 games for Staten Island, slashing .325/.385/.383 with 3 home runs, 23 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. He became a free agent after the season.

Mariachis de Guadalajara On March 28, 2023, Castillo signed with the Mariachis de Guadalajara of the Mexican League. In 13 games, he slashed .279/.311/.349 with 12 hits and five RBI. Castillo was released on June 2. In 18 games for Querétaro, he hit .351/.360/.608 with three home runs, 19 RBI, and one stolen base.

Castillo re-signed with Querétaro on March 13, 2025. In 63 games for the team, he batted .328/.402/.433 with five home runs, 30 RBI, and two stolen bases. On March 4, 2026, Castillo was released by the Conspiradores.

Personal life Castillo is married and has one daughter. While playing in Pawtucket, Castillo continued to live in Boston, driving about one hour for home games. In April 2019, he put up for sale a home he owned in Pinecrest, Florida, with an asking price of $3,953,000.