Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to be represented by Jay-Z's Roc Nation Sports

Roc Nation Sports has made yet another splash by agreeing to represent Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo.

Castillo, 26, is free to sign with a major league team. He has acquired permanent Haitian residency papers, an unblocking license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and been declared a free agent by Major League Baseball. Castillo has been training in the northern region of the Dominican Republic, though he had to take time off recently due to a finger injury.

Teams are preparing for Castillo to have a showcase soon, either in the United States or the Dominican Republic, though the dates and locations of the showcase are still unknown. Other clients of Roc Nation Sports, a joint venture with CAA, include Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano and Yankees lefthander C.C. Sabathia.

Scouts don’t expect Castillo to be an immediate impact player along the lines of Yoenis Cespedes or Jose Abreu, but several scouts who have seen Castillo before he left and since he has been in the Dominican Republic have been impressed, though there’s a split on whether he profiles as an everyday player or a fourth outfielder.

At 5-foot-9, 185 pounds, Castillo has good strength for his relatively short stature and is an athletic player whose best tool is his plus-plus speed. He was one of the better base stealers in Cuba, going 22-for-29 in steals in 2011-12 to rank third in the league in stolen bases, one year after leading the league with 29 bags in 35 attempts.

Castillo can sting the ball from the right side of the plate, projecting as a line-drive bat who hits a lot of doubles and triples rather than home runs. He’s an aggressive hitter with good bat speed, though his swing can get long at times and he will expand his strike zone.

Castillo mostly played center field and right field in Cuba. He does have a small amount of history in the infield, but he has been working out for teams as a center fielder and is expected to sign as an outfielder.

In his final season in Cuba playing for Ciego De Avila in 2012-13, Castillo hit just .250/.352/.342 in 43 games. It was an uncharacteristically poor season for Castillo, who in 2011-12 hit .332/.395/.545 in 420 plate appearances with 16 home runs, 32 walks, 42 strikeouts and a league-leading 28 doubles.

Castillo’s international tournament exposure had been limited since November 2012, when he travelled to Taiwan and Japan for an exhibition series with the team Cuba would end up sending to the World Baseball Classic last year in March. Castillo was left off the WBC roster, however, and before Castillo left Cuba, he had been suspended for trying to defect from Cuba.

His best showing at an international tournament came in October 2011 at the World Cup in Panama. Castillo made the all-tournament team by leading the World Cup in batting average and slugging with a .512/.524/.854 slash line in 10 games, going 21-for-41 with two home runs, two triples and four doubles.

While it is still far too early to predict where Castillo will sign, the Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Dodgers are among the clubs that have reportedly scouted him recently.

I don't think Castillo has the star power of other Roc Nation clients but this is just a start for the agency getting into 'international waters'.  

Detroit Tigers showing interest in reliever Luis Ayala

Even though Dave Dombrowski said the Detroit Tigers were done spending for the offseason, he's still looking to improve the team and do it in an affordable way.

The Tigers have shown interest in right handed veteran reliever Luis Ayala. Ayala spent most of last year with the Atlanta Braves after pitching in two games with the Baltimore Orioles. He went 1-1 with a 2.90 ERA in 37 games with the Braves.

In three years with the Atlanta Braves Ayala has made about 157 appearances while posting a 2.58 ERA. Ayala, 36, must have himself a top agent if he’s able to get the attention of almost every organization in the league. The Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners are also said to be courting the well traveled veteran.

Overall Ayala has a career record of 38-47 with a 3.34 ERA and 367 strikeouts in 554 1/3 innings for the Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Orioles and Braves.

Nelson Cruz is the biggest loser in free agency

When former Texas Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz rejected the Rangers' one year qualifying offer of $14.1 million, many figured he would land somewhere with a multi year deal. In 2013 Cruz batted .266 with 27 home runs and 76 RBI. That was with a 50 game suspension he had to serve because of his involvement in the Biogenesis PED scandal.

Instead it's Cruz on the outside looking in as spring training gets closer. Cruz has been linked to the Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, and Baltimore Orioles, but still sits at home waiting for a contract offer to roll in. You would figure if Jhonny Peralta can land a 4 year, $53 million deal with the St. Louis Cardinals it would be a no brainer that Cruz would land a similar deal, since Peralta also was involved in the same PED scandal. Instead teams see a player who hasn't played in a full 162 game season and has been hit with injuries instead of a bat they can plug into the middle of the lineup.

Cruz would be a fit for most American League teams. At age 33 he isn't finished, but is more on the downside than most would think. He's only hit for more than 30 homers once in his career in a stacked Rangers lineup. He can't run very well and he's a defensive liability. Not someone you want to throw a ton of money at. The guy has DH written all over him. Teams see a player who hasn't played in a full 162 game season and has been hit with injuries instead of a bat they can plug into the middle of the lineup. Being involved with PED's hasn't helped. They wouldn't know what kind of player they would be getting.

Here’s another thing about Nelson Cruz: nobody really wants him. It’s the middle of January and Cruz remains a free agent, and he’s a free agent without a strong market. The best fit, at this point, is probably Baltimore, but Baltimore hasn’t done anything. Seattle’s the only other fit, and they haven’t done anything. The Phillies looked obvious from the get-go, but they instead went with Marlon Byrd. Maybe, in the past, Cruz would’ve secured a major payday, but teams are smarter now, and one of the first things smart baseball people learn is that players like Cruz are overrated.

Cruz is better off seeking a one year deal and proving himself again instead of looking for a big payday. If Mark Reynolds can lock up an invite to spring training at the very least, Cruz should be able to secure a one year deal.

Cruz has definitely turned out to be the biggest loser during this free agency period.

Former MLB player,Jai Miller, to play for Alabama next season

After toiling in the minors for ten years and getting a handful of at-bats in the majors, former MLB player, Jai Miller is taking a new route in his athletic career. He'll be suiting up for the Alabama football team next fall. Yes, the same Alabama team that'll be competing for a national championship tonight.

Miller was a 4th round pick by the Florida Marlins in 2003 and decided to play baseball rather than attend Stanford after committing to play for the Cardinal. Miller, who is 27, reportedly will play safety for the Crimson Tide. Miller played for the Marlins, Oakland A's, Kansas City Royals, and Baltimore Orioles during his baseball career.

 Miller's brother-in-law Matthew Elliott told BamaOnline that the 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete spoke to Alabama head coach Nick Saban about the move several weeks ago and is expected to start out on the defensive side of the ball where he'll likely play safety.

"I think the desire was there on both sides to get him back into football and see what he's capable of doing," Elliott said. "If the opportunity is there for him to play professional ball, then the best situation for him would be to play for one of the best coaches in the game and that would be Coach Saban on the defensive side."


This is a situation that bears watching, just to see if Miller is able to make the transition from the diamond to the college gridiron at this particular stage in his life. Miller did have several big school offers coming out of high school, so he's not a chump just trying to play the game.

Personally, I'm rooting for him to do well. He may not make the NFL, but just to see him try his hand at football again could be entertaining.

Adam Loewen Reinvents Himself

Adam Loewen was once the highest Canadian player drafted in Major League Baseball. He was the number four pick in the 2002 draft and made it to the bigs with the Baltimore Orioles in 2006. He was thought to be a fixture in their rotation for the future. That was as a pitcher.

After two stress fractures to his left elbow, it was too early for Loewen to give up on his baseball dreams. So Loewen went the Rick Ankiel route and reinvented himself as an outfielder. Loewen was one of the Toronto Blue Jays' September call-ups after hitting .311, with 16 home runs and 79 RBI, for the Las Vegas 51s, the Blue Jays’ farm team in the Pacific Coast League.

Pretty impressive for someone whose career was thought to be over.

“Adam’s done a great job,” said Tony LaCava, the Blue Jays’ assistant general manager, who is with the Jays for a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners before he and GM Alex Anthopoulos arrive in Vancouver on Thursday to check out the Jays’ single-A prospects. “It’s very unusual what he’s done — going from major league pitcher to minor league outfielder. He’s another Rick Ankiel. Not many have done it, but he’s really put himself in a good spot. I think he’s certainly on the verge of becoming a viable major league player.”


Granted, he has been hitting minor league pitching and playing in minor league parks, specifically the one in Las Vegas. The people that matter in the Blue Jays organization think Loewen has a future with the team. Maybe a platoon outfielder? Who knows.

Toronto does plan on giving Loewen a few starts to see if he's worth keeping around.

Luke Scott Still Challenging President Obama's Authenticity

Since President Barack Obama ran for office many have questioned his place of birth. I'm not going to go into my personal thoughts about this topic, except that no one has ever had their authenticity questioned more than President Obama.

Luke Scott of the Baltimore Orioles still think that the President of the United States is a phony. In an article by Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star, Scott voices his opinion on the recent turn of events where  President Obama's birth certificate was produced.


“(President Obama’s) birth certificate has yet to be validated,” he is saying.

“If they can counterfeit $100 bills, I think it’s a million times easier to counterfeit a birth certificate, if you ask me,” Scott says. “So, all it is, let’s just see if it’s real. Anybody can produce a document, so let’s check it out.”

This is a story I would like to see die.









 

What's With The Orioles Luke Scott Throwing Banana Chips

The Baltimore Orioles Luke Scott should really be careful about his choice of words. His opinions are his opinions, like Barack Obama not being born in the United States. But when you start throwing banana chips at a Dominican teammate (Felix Pie) and saying he acts like a savage, you're treading into dangerous waters.

“Felix is my friend,” he says. “I give him a hard time. The reason why I give him a hard time is because there are certain people you deal with and you go up and talk to them, and it doesn’t work. They don’t understand. … I tell him about some of the ways he’s acted: ‘Look, you’re acting like an animal, you’re acting like a savage.’”



He also explained why he throws banana chips into the helmet of his Dominican teammate.


“Here are my banana chips to remind him that whenever he acts like an animal, ‘Hey, that’s what other people are thinking. They’re just not telling you, but that’s what they’re thinking about. And I’m telling you so that you’re aware of that so you can make a cognitive decision to not behave like that.’”

I don't know how friendly they are but someone should explain to Pie that those particular actions might be borderline. I'll stop short of calling Scott a racist, because I believe he isn't. He just needs a better choice of words and actions. Maybe it's one of those locker rooms where everything goes, who knows. Remember John Rocker thought the same thing and wasn't well received in his after what he said. 

Valverde Denies Role In Spit-Gate

There's always a lot of back and forth between athletes and fans at a sporting event. Most players take it in stride, some fans take the heckling to a different level and which leads to atheletes lashing out. Ask Ron Artest and Vernon Maxwell about that. Recently the mild mannered, good guy Grant Hill even went after a fan. What is the world coming to?

Thursday night Detroit Tigers closer Jose Valverde was accused of spitting on a Baltimore Orioles fan. Valverde denies that he did it. He did say he spit in that direction but not at the fan. Fellow reliever Daniel Schlereth backed his claim which is basically saying the fan's claim was bogus. I wasn't there so I wouldn't know. I'd like an Orioles fan to clue me in on this one. Valverde said the fan was yelling at him all game. He shouldnt've spit in that direction as it is, that way you're not going into self defense mode.

"This guy's drinking and drinking, and he doesn't know what's going on in the game," Valverde said. "He started doing a lot of stuff, BS. The thing is, you have to sometimes leave it alone, because they pay for that. There's nothing you can do. He paid for the ticket. He can do whatever he wants to. But after a while, he ticked me off …

And sometimes you have to ignore it and be the bigger man. Well Valverde probably already is the bigger man.

"They're shouting, 'You [stink], you piece of …' And I'm tired of that. Everybody's tired. And I tell them, 'You know what, you want to do something? Come on. Come here.' And he told me, '[Forget] you. [Forget] your mother.' He talks about my mother, and I said, 'OK. God bless you.'"



As a fan there are lines you don't cross. Say anything you want but leave family out of it.