The financial and on-field challenges keep growing for the Yankees, who are trying to change from within.
Friday, on the day the Red Sox signed multi-talented Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo to a seven-year deal worth $72.5 million with the expectation he will play center field, the Yankees came back from a 3-0 first-inning deficit to beat the White Sox, 4-3 on a Martin Prado, two-out, bases-loaded single up the middle that scored Ichiro Suzki at Yankee Stadium.
Prado also hit a two-run home run. A serious and intense player, he is trying to help reshape the Yankees’ mindset, and he’s off to a great start.
“I hope from this point on we keep this attitude,’’ Prado said of the Yankees’ team approach. When he was down no balls to two strikes in the ninth, he said he looked into the Yankees dugout and saw all the support from his teammates.
“It gives you a little extra,” he said.
The Yankees have won two straight since a meeting of position players, while Boston has signed outside help to right their ship.
The Yankees had an interest in Castillo, but because of luxury-tax issues were not able to play in the same financial ballpark as the Red Sox, according to industry sources.
If the Yankees had signed Castillo to such a deal, they would have taken a massive $36 million tax hit, making the cost of the signing $108 million.
That was too much financial risk for the Yankees, a team that spent nearly half a billion dollars this past offseason.
So while the Yankees are bean-counting in their own way, Castillo, 27, winds up going to Beantown.
The Yankees have to make the best of the situation with the players they have in the wild-card chase, and they did that Friday night.
“This team never gives up,’’ Prado said.
The athletic Castillo, who is represented by Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, gives the Red Sox talent. With the signing, Boston pairs Castillo with Yoenis Cespedes, recently acquired from the Athletics, to put two Cuban defectors in the outfield.
The Yankees talked about playing Castillo at second base, but they certainly have room in right field for him, considering the dreadful season Carlos Beltran is having his first year as a Yankee.
Cuban stars like Cespedes, the White Sox’s Jose Abreu and the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig have all been tremendous success stories.
Abreu hit a three-run home run in the first, his 33rd of the season.
“He’s a three-hole hitter and he is just as good as any guy in the league,’’ White Sox manager Robin Ventura told The Post. “It’s hard all of sudden out of nowhere to get a three-hole hitter. Not a draft, not a trade, all of a sudden he was signed [for $68 million].’’
The Yankees have been shut out in the Cuban market — not getting involved in the sweepstakes for Cespedes, Abreu or Puig.
Abreu said Friday, “I had interest to come here to New York.’’
The Yankees have Mark Teixeira at first base, so didn’t pursue him.
As for the 5-foot-9, 205-pound Castillo, Abreu said: “I’m very happy for him and I think Cuba’s pretty happy for him.
We played together when we were growing up and coming up for the national team. He’s a guy that has a lot of tools.’’
The Red Sox, who were not hit with a luxury tax because they are under the threshold, need to add pitching. They have an interest in Philadelphia’s Cole Hamels and also would love to pull off a trade for the slugger Giancarlo Stanton, if he is made available by the Marlins. The Red Sox have lots of young players to trade.
Meanwhile, Prado, in his short time in The Bronx, has taken over in a leadership role, along with Chase Headley. Prado also has taken to the hitting drill run by Kevin Long, called the home run drill.
“I used to see Robinson Cano do that drill all the time,’’ Prado told The Post. “I really like it.’’
Friday night’s results showed the drill and team approach is working.