It doesn’t appear Tigers right fielder Nicholas Castellanos is going to get a contract extension before the July 31 trade deadline, which means the impending free agent is likely to find himself in another uniform by Aug. 1. Castellanos said in March, a few weeks before the season started, that he and the Tigers hadn’t engaged in extension talks. That may have been true at the time, but it turns out the two sides regarded a new contract as “likely” for a short period in the spring, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports.
The length and value of the extension the Tigers and Castellanos thought they’d strike are unknown, but it was the team that “pulled back,” per McCosky. Castellanos hired the Boras Corporation to represent him April 19, and it doesn’t seem as if the Tigers and the agency have had any meaningful talks since then.
Considering Detroit made a spirited effort to trade Castellanos in the offseason, it’s not surprising the rebuilding club was reluctant to pull the trigger on an extension in the spring. Castellanos’ previous agent even publicly stated in January that his client would prefer a trade, though general manager Al Avila couldn’t net an offer to his liking. Avila admitted then that trying to find a taker for Castellanos had been “frustrating.”
Seven months later, the frustration has likely persisted for Avila in regards to Castellanos. The 27-year-old’s offense has gotten rolling of late after a slow start to the season, but he hasn’t done much to boost his trade stock. Castellanos is a good hitter who doesn’t offer much in the field, which has been the case since he broke out at the plate in 2016. Through 366 plate appearances this season, Castellanos has slashed .282/.342/.468 (113 wRC+) with nine home runs. Notably, there’s almost almost no gap between his weighted on-base average (.344) and expected wOBA (.346).
Diligent work to improve as an outfielder actually has paid off to a degree for Castellanos, though he has still only managed minus-5 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-5 Outs Above Average and a minus-4.0 Ultimate Zone Rating in the grass in 2019. The former third baseman’s best fit, at least if a playoff-contending team acquires him for the stretch run, may be as a designated hitter. The trouble is that Castellanos’ output this year hasn’t been much better than that of an average DH (110 wRC+).
Given his flaws, Castellanos is unlikely to fetch much for the Tigers prior to the deadline. Assuming a trade does come together, though, Castellanos will be on track to reach free agency after the season with zero chance of a qualifying offer hurting his earning power. Once he hits the open market, Castellanos will try to build on the $9.95MM he’s making this season.
Castellanos has played in 820 games and he has a WAR of 5.6.
I think Mr. Boras will have a hard time selling this one.
Can’t agree more. Especially with his current 1.1 war which ranks 234th in the league.
I don’t understand people like you who place so much emphasis on war. It’s a useful stat but it doesn’t tell the whole picture, you can still be a very good player with a low war
A very good player? Probably not. A somewhat good player is more likely…
War is useful because it shows how useful all around of a player they are. However, let’s use others for a second. An all bat DH type with a sub .500 slugging and only 9 HRs in the first half. From a power hitter that’s not that great. His OPS is still .810 which is a good hitter but that’s all he is. No value defensively.
you can still be a very good player with a low war
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Do you have any examples of non-pitchers that are low-WAR/High-value players?
And why you think WAR doesn’t apply to Castellanos?
IMO, he is good enough to start for someone, but not for everyone. His RC+ is 113, making him a slightly above average offensive player for RF, and actually ranks #15 right now. And his defense probably eats up that slight offensive advantage, and then some. 9 HRs and a .282 is very pedestrian, even if he had a glove.
Well most baseball people would disagree with you. War is a star that breaks it all down to predictable outcomes. He isn’t even hitting well this year. If he can’t hit and can’t defend, I’m going to ask what good is he? Let a different team sign him.
Evan Longoria has WAR equivalent to Justin Turner. WAR doesn’t tell the whole story.
That’s because Longo is having a better season defensively than Turner.
The low WAR is strictly due to his poor defense. He would be fine a DH and could potentially get better since he wouldn’t have to worry about playing in the field.
Nicholas has improved defensively this year but it’s still a mess. He’s a 1B/DH and not an outfielder. His hard hit rate is down 7% from 2018 which explains his hr/fb rate dropping 5% this year. The guy is solid but needs new scenery. The Tigers lineup is putrid.
Nick Castellanos is his own worst enemy. He openly stated he was too lazy to improve his OF defense last season. He’s working on it now that he discovered that his defense scares other teams away from him. He refused to move to 1B making him limited once again. The Tigers should just get this guy off the team.
I’ve seen you comment this same idea multiple times now and I still don’t know where you came up with it. Castellanos has admitted to working extremely hard at hitting and fielding. Not quite sure where you heard that he was being too lazy to work on his defense
He made the statement early last season during an interview on TV… Either the news or pregame, I can’t remember which one but I absolutely remember him saying it. The main topic of the interview was his move from 3B to RF and how the move didn’t effect his excellent hitting at the time.
He didn’t “work hard” on his defense until last off season.
Mo point is that he’s his own worst enemy.
In addition, when he was asked to move to 1B, he refused because he didn’t want to change positions again. Not exactly team oriented.
Furthermore, in 2016, the Tigers did offer extension talks but his “camp…” didn’t want to. I believe that was in the Detroit News online.
He will get traded. Tigers won’t get much. Whoever gets him will be very fortunate. I bet he becomes a much better player once he leaves. He kills LHPing.
Where does he go though? I mean, he’ll do fine on the open market but who is going to trade for him? I’m assuming he’s pushing hard to be dealt.
The only teams I could see trading for him are *maybe* the Rays or the Astros. I suppose there’s a slight chance the Yankees get into the mix if his price really is minimal. I don’t think the Indians will have any interest as he’s not much of an outfielder.
I’m very curious to see who trades for him and what he brings back for the Tigers.
Some team in a smaller park should benefit from his bat. His glove will also work better in that scenario. And let’s not forget that the Tigers are not famous for getting the most out of their players. See: Iggy, JV (arguably), and McCann.
Cleveland is the team that makes the most sense. They need a middle of the order bat that can play outfield or dh. They can dh him and slide Bauers to left and Bradley to AAA. Makes a lot more sense than trading a starter during a playoff run and would cost almost nothing in prospects.
I agree completely – CLE really won’t have to give up much in the way of prospects, and they need his bat. The stopper will be the Tribe’s aversion to picking up the rest of his ‘19 salary.
At this point the Tigers may be better off keeping him and giving him a QO. Nearly every contending team has OF covered. The “need” is not there. Couple OFs have to go down to injury in the next week or two for Castellanos trade talks to heat up.
Chris I is probably crying himself to sleep that Nick makes $9 MM this year. You think he is going to offer him an $18MM Q.O? I can’t see that happening.
If “he” is Avila (I assume), why not?
Where is Detroit going next year? Nowhere.
Who will want Castellanos attached with a QO if he declines? Very few.
It gives Castellanos and Detroit another chance to get it right. If I am Detroit I absolutely would. They are primed for more losses next year.
Why would you pay him 18 million bucks? If no one wants to give anything for him at 9 what makes you think he’s going to have more value at double the salary? He’s a bat first corner outfielder. The market isn’t strong for that kind of player. They might as well work out an extension for 3 years if you’re going to give him 18 for next year. He’ll have 0 value on that deal.
Even with improvements across the board from Castellanos he’s going to have little value on an 18 million dollar deal. You either give him a reasonable extension if you think you’ll be competitive in the next 2-3 seasons (3/30-33 range) or you wave goodbye to a sunk cost at the deadline. Recoup whatever you can and admit you held too long. You definitely don’t sink more money into a 1 year deal for a guy hoping his trade value miraculously skyrockets. Castellanos is not the kind of player that happens to.
Can’t you just make 1 comment to make your point? Kid, relax.
Your 3-year extension idea is nice except Castellanos probably isn’t signing it for various reasons. Hence the QO. Castellanos would be dumb not to sign it. This would be a no-loss situation for Detroit. If he is a bust in 2020, so be it. He helps draft position. If he’s not a bust, someone might call. We do not know. There could be an injury spell to the OFs in 2020 and suddenly Castellanos’ name appears.
If he gives you zero value, as you stated, you do not give him an extension. QO is the safe play. Overpay or not it is for 1 season and if you are Avila you hope he bounces back. He’s be 28 years old and in his prime. That extension you suggested will have to come from his agent.
18 million to Castellanos is gasoline on the fire, Trimmy. You don’t recoup value on that kind of salary. His type of player is always available. That’s my point. 18 million is real money that I’m sure Illitch doesn’t want to hand out to a player who won’t bring much of anything back in a non competitive year. I’m sure they’d be much better off going out and signing 2-3 flip candidates this offseason instead of giving Castellanos 18 million bucks.
It’s 1 season in a lost season. I get your point, I’m just here disagreeing with it. Not here to say it’s going to happen. Yet you think an extension is more appropriate for a guy with zero value (your words). At worst a 1 year QO is nothing more than a stopgap. Detroit is not winning next year and probably looks to 2021 to contend. Your way still has Castellanos, my way does not. I like my route much better.
An extension is a reasonable salary. I don’t mean he has 0 value to a team. He has zero value in a trade on that salary. Does Jay Bruce have value to the Phillies? Yes. Did they give up anything to get that value? No.
If Detroit thinks its young pitching prospects will be up and driving them into contention in the next few seasons then I could hear an argument for bringing him back on a reasonable salary. I’d ship him out for the first top 20 org prospect offered tomorrow instead of all that personally.
“Zero chance” of a qualifying offer? Don’t be surprised when they do.
If offered the Q.O. I suspect he will accept. $18MM is more than he is likely to get on the market. This does not line up with the trend to go cheap in Detroit. On the other hand, I do believe he desperately wants out of Detroit, and I cannot blame him.
As cheap as Chris Illitch is, he would trade Nick for ANYTHING to save the remainder of his salary(4-5m). At this point the Tiger’s won’t get anything of value for him, but unloading his salary would be a huge win for CI. #SellTheTigers
OK, just because he doesn’t sign every slow-footed, over the hill free agent to way too much money like his dad does doesn’t mean he’s cheap. For goodness sakes you guys had the 5th highest payroll in 2017 and lost 98 games. How is that sustainable?
Mike Illitch ruined it for every other owner in sports. He was willing to lose money to buy goodwill and now every other team is expected to do the same.
Pirates “fans” love to complain about their payroll (27th) but rarely mention the team’s revenues (also 27th) instead mentioning the owner’s personal wealth (9th) when explaining why he/they can spend more.
Let’s face it, Mike wasn’t worried about the long term health of the organization – he was trying to win a championship at all costs. Signing guys like Miguel Cabrera and Jordan Zimmerman will negatively impact this franchise for years and years to come. These were drastic moves and sustainability was not a factor.
Next year, the Tigers will be spending $60 million on Miggy, Zimmerman, and Prince Fielder.. for zero practically no production whatsoever. How do you build around that?
I really wonder whether the Tigers would QO him if they didn’t trade him. It’s not clear to me that he wouldn’t take the money and run, and, since they clearly don’t value you him that highly, and since they aren’t going to be competitive next year, why waste the money?
It makes sense….if Avila isn’t getting any good offers, roll the dice and offer a QO. Boras clients don’t usually accept and if he does, it’s just a one year contract you can try to move again next year. Not so sure anymore a trade is going to happen.
I’d be surprised if he didn’t take it. He’s maybe a $36M/3 type of player. Add the draft pick onto that, there won’t be a lot of suitors. If offered, he should take the $18M, hopefully have a better year, then have no QO attached to him. The Tigers should just trade him for payroll relief.
Payroll is currently $105 million. How much more “relief” can the fans take?
Unless he goes on a run, I highly doubt it. If he put up the same numbers he did last year, I could see them making a QO to get a comp pick from whoever signs him. But at this point, I don’t think there’s a chance and I truly believe AA would give him away just to save CI a few bucks. If he turned down the QO I could see him signing a 1 year deal for less money, given the recent market for 1 dimensional players.
The problem is he’s not gonna get that in the open market and sign the QO. Then Tigers are really stuck.
I could see him getting 3 years 30-40m in free agency, given his age. He could try for that or take the 1 year higher QO. Either way I think its a moot point as I feel he will be traded/given away at the direction of Chris I.
I, for one, will be glad to see him gone. Yes, he will hit better with another team
But, he will never hit well with the tigers. For one, lousy Lloyd has every hitter on the team all messed up. And, second, he just doesn’t want to be in Detroit another day. Also, I do believe he has a very large ego and feels he is better than he really is. No matter who we may get in return,at least we won’t be paying 9m for someone to continuously underperform.
Nick has worked hard to improve his defense..not every one can be a Willie Mays or Roberta Clemente or Al kaline.plus all of those letters stats are meanless numbers. Nick is better overall that most of you think. CI n AA have given us a AA team at its best. they want to cut dollars and say it is rebuilding.
I agree, when a player refuses to change assignments to better the team, it’s time to move on. Everyone says he’s already changed so many positions for this organization..Yada yada. No. He did it because that’s what the team needed him to do for them to be most successful given his flaws and other’s strengths. He has a Miguel Cabrera locker room attitude, without the HOF play. Trade him.
I’ve been on the trade Nick boat for a long time, but now that Miggy is off 1st, I don’t mind the Tigers making Nick an offer as their new 1st baseman. I like Hosmer as a comp. Their offensive stats are eerily similar. Defensively, I could see Castellanos playing a similar 1st base, but without Hosmer’s ability to pick anything. But Hosmer’s contract was a massive overpay.
Nick averaged 2.3 WAR for the 16-18 seasons. Say his floor is 2 WAR, and during a rebuild you’re willing to pay 6 million a WAR.
But it doesn’t make sense to sign a 2 or 3 year deal, so something like 6/72 million is what I’d offer with someone else’s money. Maybe going a touch higher.
I have to think nick never said he didnt try to improve his defense. You must have mis-heard him or took it out of context. I did hear him say on mlb channel he was never made any contract extension and gm or anybody did not come back with “ yes we did”.
I wonder if the Phillies would take a flyer on him for third base then they could defensively replace him in late innings and find him some work in the outfield too. For next to nothing in a trade for him it might be worth it. Get him with the right coach maybe his fire in the belly could be lit , still only 27 wow. Braun was able to become a decent player on the field.
He is worse at third than in the outfield. Detroit will get salary relief and a lotto type prospect.
Tigers should look to package Castellanos, Zimmerman, and Greene in an effort to rid the team of Zimmermans contract.
It wouldn’t be enough. Zimmerman has ~ $37M left on his contract. I like Greene, but he’s basically had one good season. Even if he had 3 good seasons and was a legit ace closer, there is no chance any RP in the world is worth Zimmerman’s contract.
Hader? I’d probably take Zim if I could have Hader. But, yes Greene is no Hader.
I say offer him 60/8…with incentives for another 60….you think he’s worth it boris…
I expect Nick to change agencies before he signs. He will be of little importance to Boras, and will linger in FA until teams have filled their openings and spent their payroll. One year with an option maybe?
Why extend him if nobody wants to trade for him?
Avila would have regrets for even considering that possibility. Castellanos has already moved on from Detroit and vice versa. They’re just stuck together until one team – any team – makes any kind of offer.
He just not a good player and his attitude sucks
Both the Tigers and Castellanos are in a pretty tough spot. He’s been hitting better lately and with the potential to show improved defense continuing through the year, he could end up with another 3.0WAR season.
If Castellanos tanks or can’t make it above 2.0 WAR on the season, things might get iffy on a QO.
A 2.5 to 3.0WAR right fielder at age 28 not getting an offer for at least double the $19M QO seems awfully unlikely and giving Castellanos away will weaken Detroit’s FO reputation and negotiating position for other players.