Rusney Castillo Injury: Updates on Red Sox OF's Oblique and Return

Rookie outfielder Rusney Castillo is battling for the Boston Red Sox starting job in center field, but the Cuban sensation has suffered a setback in the form of an injury.   

Continue for updates.

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Castillo Comments on Status

Wednesday, March 18

"Castillo said he felt no discomfort at all in two minor league at-bats and expects to have time to get ready for start of season," Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com reported.

On March 17, Andrew Simon of MLB.com reported Castillo would see minor league action the next two days but wouldn't make his Grapefruit League debut on Wednesday. 

Rob Bradford of WEEI.com passed along comments from Castillo on March 16.

"I would say I’m at 100 percent, but we’re going to ease our way into it," he said. "It really hasn’t been that difficult just because I’ve been informed and I always thought health is priority No. 1 right now. It’s a long season, so there’s still time to recover and make sure I recover right and not rush it."

On March 15, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reported, "Rusney Castillo, out since 3-3 (left oblique) was taking high-intensity swings at soft toss in the cage this morning."

Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal noted on March 12 that Castillo was taking swings off a tee:

"Castillo took more swings off a tee on Thursday, increasing the intensity of his swings over what he’d done the previous day. The next step will be for Castillo to take batting practice on the field and then to get back into games -- and no timetable is in place for those two parts of the progression."

"Only after Castillo gets into games and begins to take swings against major-league pitching will the Red Sox have a sense of whether he might have a chance to be ready for Opening Day. Even talking about his history of preparation for each season can only go so far."

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Farrell Comments on Castillo's Injury 

Friday, March 6

Ian Browne of MLB.com provided comments from Red Sox manager John Farrell, who spoke about Castillo's status:

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Yeah, he did some work in the pool today, in addition to the elliptical. He's starting to gain a little rotational movement. We may even put a ball in his hand tomorrow to do some light throwing. It's not an intense throwing -- it's more just to increase the rotation. The next step is to get him on some ground-based work and that would include some light running as well. Two days ago, there was concern, and rightfully so. He's making very solid progress.

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On March 5, Farrell revealed Castillo's left oblique was doing "much better" but noted the team "still plans to be cautious with him," per Abraham.

It's possible that Castillo entered spring training with the edge over Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. for the center field role in Boston. However, the situation has grown murkier.

The 27-year-old rookie was forced to leave the team's game against Boston College due to "soreness." As it turns out, Castillo strained his left oblique, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com:

The prognosis is somewhat surprising since Castillo was unconcerned earlier in the day, per Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com:

Since it is so early in spring training, the Red Sox would be wise to play it safe with Castillo, who could be a key part to their success in 2015.

There is nothing to gain by rushing him back, so even if Castillo is forced to play catch-up in terms of his battle for a starting job, it is a small price to pay.

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