Let the Rusney Castillo Era Begin In Boston Aka Havana North

Up until a few weeks ago, like everyone else in the world besides those virgins at Baseball America, I had never heard of Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo. That all changed quickly as the Red Sox' season simultaneously went nowhere while they also got into serious contract discussions with him (along with a host of other teams). That culminated with the great news today that they had signed him to a seven-year deal worth $72.5 million-the most ever for a free agent amateur.

I'll save the scouting report since I know as little about him as you do. Check out YouTube for the bizarre highlights from Cuba. Castillo is said to be 27 but as we know with any guys from Cuba, Domincan Republic, etc., that means nothing. He could be a complete failure but this moves makes me happy for two main reasons: 1) it shows the Red Sox realized how pitiful their outfield options are in terms of prospects and guys in Boston; 2) they are committed to turning things around in 2015 after this steaming pile of elephant shit disguised as a season.

More than anything, Cuban players are really in vogue at the moment in MLB. White Sox rookie Jose Abreu-soon to be AL Rookie of the Year, Dodgers star Yasiel Puig, lights out Reds closer Aroldis Chapman and new Red Sox outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to name a few. Haha ever heard of any of them? While their fundamentals can be questionable at best, who cares since they are light years ahead of most players in terms of raw talent. Plus they play an exciting brand of baseball which the game desperately needs these days.

Boston could be gathering all these assets to make a serious run at Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton this winter. Miami is obviously filled with Cubans so Cespedes and Castillo surely would be fan favorites there from day one. Something to keep in mind before you buy that Cespedes or Castillo jersey.

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Jose Iglesias Named American League Rookie of the Month for June

Let's state the obvious: absolutely nobody (outside of maybe friends, relatives and the man himself) could have expected this start for Red Sox utility infielder Jose Iglesias. We are a few weeks away from the 2013 MLB All-Star Game and he's hitting .415/.463 OBP/.533 SLG in 41 games with 56 hits, 23 runs, nine doubles, two triples, one home run and 10 RBIs. Today, Iglesias was named the American League Rookie of the Month for June.

Showing how few homegrown prospects the franchise has hit on lately, Iglesias is the first Red Sox to receive the honor since Jacoby Ellsbury way back in September 2007. In June, Iglesias hit .395 with .453 on-base percentage. For a guy that looked hopeless at the plate as recently as last season, this start to 2013 (that we all know will end some point soon) has been nothing short of amazing.

He's always been known for his exceptional glove but Jose has also shown his versatility as he started the season at shortstop, was sent to Pawtucket when Stephen Drew was healthy then came back and now he's the third baseman with Will Middlebrooks playing for the PawSox. Scratch that, he's been in his natural position the last few games because Drew is doing what he does best-missing games with iffy injuries.

Another cool part of this is that Iglesias-a Cuban-is also joined by his fellow countryman outfielder Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers who was named the National League Rookie of the Month for June. It's the first time two Cubans have won the award at the same time. For what it's worth, I think that Iglesias has a good shot at the American League Rookie of the Year as well since it is not a particularly strong class. Stay tuned on that.

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