FORT MYERS, Fla. -- If the Red Sox complete the signing of 19-year-old switch-hitting Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada, it will cost them a reported $63 million -- a bonus of $31.5 million plus a 100 percent overage tax for exceeding their allotment of international bonus money.
But if fellow Cuban Rusney Castillo is correct, it will be money well spent.
Castillo, the projected starting center fielder for the Red Sox who signed a six-year $72.5 million deal last year, said Monday that he believes Moncada is a five-tool player.
“He’s a pretty complete player, from what I’ve seen and heard,” Castillo said through interpreter Adrian Lorenzo. “He’s a five-tool player in the limited amount I’ve seen him play.”
Castillo is 27 and has followed a career path that has kept him well ahead of Moncada. They never played on the Cuban national team together, but they did play together in the 2012 All-Star game conducted by Serie Nacional, the main domestic amateur baseball competition in Cuba.
In the All-Star skills competition, Moncada won two different events (a race to first base and around the bases), beating Castillo’s time in the first one. Castillo, asked if he would beat Moncada if they raced head-to-head now, nodded his head and smiled.
According to what one National League executive told ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, Moncada is “a younger Robinson Cano type with better speed and more positional versatility ... everything says this is a special kid.”
Castillo, asked to make his own comparison, said, “I can’t think of a player or a comp off the top of my head, but I know he’s a pretty complete player, and I think he’ll be successful in the major leagues.”
Describing why he believes the far-reaching hype on Moncada is justified, he said, “The ability, the temperament and just the fact that he’s rumored to be a good player.”
A few weeks ago at JetBlue Park, the Red Sox worked Moncada out at third base, shortstop and second base, and also hit him some fly balls in the outfield. Red Sox Hall of Famer and Cuba native Luis Tiant was among those in attendance at the workout.
Castillo said the Red Sox did ask for his advice on Moncada, saying they had “some conversations here and there -- nothing formal.”
Castillo did not mention that Tiant had talked to him specifically about Moncada, but he said Tiant has “talked to me a lot actually about what it’s like to live in Boston and be a player in Boston -- specifically a Cuban player in Boston. He’s helped me a lot.”
Cuban players have been all the rage and the target of increased scrutiny in international scouting, and justifiably so, based on the success of high-profile position players who have played in Major League Baseball in recent years: Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Abreu.
Castillo said he expects it to continue and anticipates seeing more Cubans in MLB.
“It’s always a positive thing to have more and more Cuban players in the league,” he said, “and it’s definitely something exciting and something I look forward to continuing.”
He said he believes his signing with the Red Sox, in conjunction with the other ones that came before him, is influencing others.
“It’s pretty exciting,” he said. “Of course we welcome it always. I think it would help for those young guys to have some more established guys to follow.”
Is there anything that’s drawing Cubans to the Red Sox?
“I can’t point to anything specific,” he said. “Obviously the history of the organization speaks for itself.”
Castillo, surrounded by a dozen reporters and five or six cameras, was asked if he understands the huge significance of the Moncada news for Red Sox fans.
“I think I can gain an appreciation for it,” he said. “I’ve been gaining an appreciation for how important it is, especially given the fan base and media presence. Yeah, I think so.”