BOSTON — Less than two years after arriving, outfielder Rusney Castillo appears all but finished in the Boston Red Sox organization.

Castillo, who signed a seven-year, $72.5 million contract in 2014, was placed on waivers by the Red Sox for the purposes of outrighting him off the 40-man roster, according to a report Sunday.

He was optioned Friday night back to Triple-A Pawtucket but hasn’t joined the team and won’t be eligible to do so unless he clears waivers.

The team declined comment on the move, as is typical with waiver-wire transactions.

In practical terms, what the Red Sox did with Castillo is the same as designating him for assignment and placing him immediately on waivers, as they did with pitcher Sean O’Sullivan earlier this season.

Any team claiming Castillo on waivers would assume responsibility for the approximately $38.5 million still owed him from the contract he signed with the Red Sox as a defector from Cuba late in the 2014 season.

That makes him a near-lock to clear waivers and be outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster.

It’s been a swift fall for Castillo, who played 80 games in the major leagues last season and was Boston’s presumptive opening-day left fielder until the final week of spring training.

But the 28-year-old Castillo managed just one extra-base hit in 60 at-bats in spring training, costing him his job, and that lack of production carried over into a season at Triple-A Pawtucket that saw him slug just .320 in 147 at-bats.

He was replaced on the Red Sox bench Saturday by minor-league free agent Ryan LaMarre. Castillo played for the Sea Dogs in the 2014 playoffs.

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