Rusney Castillo signs with Red Sox for $72.5 million

The Giants will not get Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo. They will not have Cuban bookends in the outfield to battle Yasiel Puig for the next decade. They will look for free agents to replace Michael Morse this offseason, unless they decide to re-sign Morse. The Red Sox signed Castillo for six years, $72.5 million.

This is not exciting.

We're not sure how Castillo will hit baseballs, of course. It's been a year-and-a-half since he played professionally, and even then, he's never faced MLB talent. He could be the pluckiest, hardiest, shortest speed-and-power player since Andrew McCutchen. He could also be Aaron Rowand in his bad years. He could also be Wily Mo Pena without the contact.

In about eight months, we'll know. There weren't a lot of people screaming "sample size!" when Jose Abreu started whomping baseballs around the American League; everyone just knew. Oh, okay. That dude can hit baseballs. I'm guessing it'll be like that for Castillo, and we'll grumble loudly and often. Unless he isn't good, at which point we'll laugh and laugh at the stupid Red Sox.

If you're upset at the Giants losing out at their last chance at a super Cuban, don't worry. There is another.

A righthanded-hitting corner outfielder, Tomas can hit towering home runs thanks to the strength from his thickly-built 6-foot-1, 230-pound frame. Tomas has 70 raw power on the 20-80 scale, and with Jose Abreu already gone, the only player still in Cuba with more raw power than him was Alfredo Despaigne.

Oh, sweet Alfredo. But the "another" line is for Tomas, who is likely to be the next Cuban player to create a mad bidding war. The Giants could muck around those negotiations and get us excited before ceding to another team, don't worry. It's entirely possible, if not likely.

I'd love to know what the Giants' final offer was, or if there was even an offer. I'd love to know who in the front office was pushing for the deal, and who was the person who decided that they were out. I'd love to have an hour-long interview with everyone who was at the Giants' private workout with Castillo and get a sense of just how much they loved him. If they were smitten with him, then I'm irritated. If they thought he had a chance to be a solid player with a limited upside, then it's hard to argue they should have flown past $80 million to lock him up until he's 33.

We don't know what the Giants thought, or what Castillo's going to do. But I'm not going to lie: I was kinda hopeful on this one, and now I'm a little mopey. Thought this was the one, everybody. Thought this was the premium international free agent the Giants were going to land, and I was getting a little excited.

The worst part is that there's a 20-percent chance the Red Sox catapult Shane Victorino back into the NL West. Say, there's a not-insignificant chance that the Giants would be interested in him this offseason. They'll have an outfield spot open, you know. They might want Shane Victorino. They might get him as the Plan B to Rusney Castillo. It's possible.

Sweet dreams.