We’re still a couple weeks from the new year, but the majority of Major League Baseball’s premier free agents have already left the board since the market opened at the beginning of November. Outfielder Nicholas Castellanos stands out as one of the few still-unsigned players with significant earning power, as MLBTR predicted he’d receive a four-year, $58MM guarantee when free agency started.
Considering the high-spending nature of free agency thus far, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Castellanos outdo projections on his forthcoming deal. Regardless, the soon-to-be 28-year-old has reportedly identified a few teams that have impressed him during his first-ever trip to the market. Castellanos regards the Cubs, with whom he finished last season, as well as the Giants and Rangers as clubs “who value him for more than just his offense and that treat “clubhouse culture” as more than just T-shirts and talking points,” Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic writes (subscription link).
It’s not clear how high any of the above teams are willing to bid for Castellanos, but there is at least interest in a reunion on the Cubs’ part, per Sharma. Although the team itself fell apart late in the year and wound up outside the playoff picture, Castellanos was brilliant after coming over in a July trade with Detroit. He slashed .321/.356/.646 with 16 home runs in 225 plate appearances as a Cub during a season-ending hot streak that came at an opportune time on the cusp of free agency.
Thanks in large part to his production in Chicago, 2019 went down as Castellanos’ fourth straight above-average offensive season by measure of wRC+ and OPS+. On the other hand, often regarded as defensively challenged (first as a third baseman and now in the grass), Castellanos combined for a less-than-stellar minus-9 Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-5.2 Ultimate Zone Rating as a corner outfielder between the two teams. Castellanos’ well-documented limitations in the field have likely upset his market, and they could help prevent a team in the NL – where there’s no designated hitter option – from breaking the bank for him.
In the Cubs’ case, they already have Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Jason Heyward as prominent corner OF-capable players. Barring a major trade (Bryant? Schwarber?), which does seem to be a distinct possibility, it may be hard to fit Castellanos on their roster in 2020. Plus, while it seems they’d welcome Castellanos back in an ideal world, the Cubs have clear payroll concerns that could help stop a reunion from coming to fruition. Even though the Cubs haven’t been active in upgrading their roster this winter, Jason Martinez of Roster Resource projects them for a $214MM luxury-tax payroll next year. If that holds, they’ll outspend the $208MM threshold by more than $6MM. So, barring salary-cutting trades or a willingness on Chicago’s part to pay the tax, it’s difficult to envision Castellanos in its uniform again.
Conversely, neither the Giants nor Rangers should come close to the tax in 2020. However, at least for San Francisco, it’s up in the air whether it’ll be aggressive in attempting to boost its playoff odds for next season. The Giants don’t figure to contend then, after all, and pouring money into free agency hasn’t been president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi’s M.O. since he assumed the reins last year.
Meantime, this has been a fairly active offseason for the Rangers, who have spent a solid chunk of cash on a few acquisitions (pitchers Corey Kluber, Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles and Joely Rodriguez). The Rangers also just freed up an outfield spot by trading Nomar Mazara and could next try to reel in a big hitter in an effort to generate excitement as they get ready to open a new ballpark.
I’m really hoping Texas can get a deal done with him soon. We need his bat in our lefty dominated lineup. We seem open to trying him out at 1B and potentially the outfield.
Its gotta be Texas right? They have Gallo and then its a steep drop off.
IMO, we make more sense than the other two teams. Far more opportunities to see the field. The Giants make little to no sense to me, personally. I could completely understand his desire to go back to Chicago though.
Yep, back to Chicago but with the Sox.
He will platoon in RF and also DH and/or play 1B along with the other Sox sluggers.
Nicholas Castellanos would be a poor investment for the White Sox with the multi-year contract he is seeking. The White Sox don’t need another defensively challenged corner OF with Eloy Jimenez in LF and recently acquired Nomar Mazara in RF. A time share with Mazara in RF and DH might improve their batting order but does nothing for their OF defense.
I wouldn’t want to see the White Sox commit a multi-year contract to a DH either unless the Red Sox really want to dump salary and were willing to ‘give-away’ J.D. Martinez in a trade along with SP David Price this winter. Martinez is a proven high OPS middle of the order bat who has also adapted very well to the DH role, not something that all position players can or desire to do.
If the White Sox want to find a compliment to Mazara in RF and as a DH they would be better served targeting FA Yasiel Puig this winter. Unlike Castellanos, Puig is a legitimate defensive RF who possesses a cannon arm. He would also be far more likely to command a shorter term contract than Castellanos this winter. The White Sox could let Puig be their regular RF in 2020 with Mazara being his backup and their primary DH versus RHP.
Puig might actually welcome an opportunity to play for the White Sox where he can flank fellow Cuban and uber CF prospect Luis Robert in RF while also complementing countryman Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu and Yasmani Grandal in their batting order. This could be the best and final opportunity for the talented but tempestuous Puig to finally live up to his once promising status as a 5-tool MLB player.
A one year ‘make good’ FA contract to Puig would also make sense for the White Sox if they are truly willing to re-invest those 2018/2019 Manny Machado free agent dollars in RF Mookie Betts next offseason. They were involved with RF Bryce Harper last winter who would have been a more sensible FA target than 3B/SS Machado. Throwing huge dollars at Betts next winter when the White Sox figure to be legitimate contenders would be a far more prudent investment than either Machado or Harper were last offseason when they were still rebuilding.
Who would you rather have, the #8 or #38 guy on the MLB Trade Rumors FA list?
Also, if the Sox add any more Cubans like Puig, it’s unlikely that non Cuban FAs will sign with them for fear of not fitting in.
No way Sox would be able to lure Betts next year.
Phillies likely open to trading Harper now. Maybe Sox should go get him.
He doesn’t want to be a DH. You can’t just assume he can play 1b either.
You think Philly is trading Harper after 1 season? Are you living in Never Never Land?
“It’s incredibly difficult” – Ron Washington
I think they should extend Schwarber 10-250 Who’s with me?
LOL! Thanks for a laugh before bedtime!
With whose money!?
Laughable.
I try
$250 American dollars seems about right-keep the $10.
The Sox can pay for it to pay off their debt to the Cubs for rebuilding their team
His momma, his poppa, the missus, and every resident of the Illinois Home for Criminaly Insane.
As opposed to the Giants who have nothing and then a steep dropoff ?
Solak isn’t such a bad hitter? Give him the 2b job and I think Solak can potentially be a .275 hitter.
Gallo and Calhoun are both really good hitters. Would love to land Castellanos. He could play 1B and hit in the 4 hole between those two.
He’d be a nice piece if a Bryant trade isn’t feasible
I am not so sure about Bryant as a trade option. The man has been injured and isn’t what he used to be three or four years ago. I would defer on Bryant in favor of signing Castellanos. Besides, the Rangers have done a fairly good job in restocking its farm system, why would they want to give up prospects for a damaged veteran.
I think like anything it depends on the cost. If it is for Apostel or Wendzel plus one of the upper pitching prospects then go ahead and pull the trigger. Lower cost to see what is there for the next 2 years. If it doesn’t work you have Jung ready by then and if it does then you are in a fortunate situation of deciding to resign or trade but at the very least recoup a draft pick.
The Rangers would have 3 OF’s with defensive liabilities if they signed him. Three that would be better served as DH’s. Choo, Calhoun and Castellanos. Would love his bat with Texas, but having all three is not ideal. Still don’t know who would play Center, Third, or Catcher.
More trades to come! Thought I heard Gallo
was decent in the outfield?
Thoughts?
Gallo is good in the OF. I like him in left. However he plays a lot of Centerfield, where I don’t like him as much. But he’s not horrific there – just not classic CF. So Gallo could be in CF, Castellanos in RF, and a split of Calhoun/Choo in Left.
Everything I’ve read suggests he would play a mixture of DH/1B if he signed with Texas. Currently, Gallo is expected to play RF for us next season.
Rangers would put him at 1B
Amen!
Castellanos in Great American Ball Park would totally rake. Thats my favorite destination for him. The small outfield means less ground to cover which should mean fewer errors, and conversely his power numbers would get even better.
Reds are getting close to winning that division imo. They got the pitchers and the infielders, now they need to check off corner outfield and catcher
Mookie Betts.
Would the Reds seriously put up the prospect capital needed to get Betts though? He wont cost as much as he normally would due to his salary and his walk year, but still I dont know
Get Senzel back into the IF.
That would be dumb of the Reds to trade for Betts knowing he will walk after the season! Boston would have to pay most of his salary! It would be a trade similar to Texas getting Kluber while not giving up much!!!
A smaller outfield wouldn’t mean less errors… you can’t make an error on a ball you can’t get to (I.e. more ground to cover)
I’ll rephrase it as, he’ll be better able to catch routine flyballs
Castellanos is not error prone. He just has no range. While he has a strong arm, he also throws like an infielder. Still room to improve. Its not about how he would “totally rake” in Great American Ball Park. If he was surrounded by gold glovers, you could consider him in that vacuum. With Mazara being acquired, Nick just doesn”t fit with the rest of the parts.
Rangers and their new stadium are on fire lately.
It will be finished on time!
Well played, sir.
If Bryant is in the OF who is at 3b ?
Yolmer Sanchez
Josh Vitters.
Giants have been linked to him since the start, I personally don’t understand it at all. It really does seem like it’s going to be them or Texas, though, and as an advocate for the rebuild, please let it be Texas!
He’s not a good fit in the outfields in the West, especially SF. But there’s no small park anywhere in the division. He can’t cover all that grass.
He’d be better suited in the postage stamp sized right field in NY or left field in Boston, but they’re coveted.
Texas is my guess.
Giants don’t really need to spend a bunch of money/years on a guy who takes them from a 72 win team to a 75 win team. Wait for some young guys to start producing at the MLB level before you start augmenting a home grown core via free agency. They need an all new core first.
Joey Bart and Heliot Ramos for J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper.
Go to bed sir…..
Yikes.
Ya Right !! Giants aren’t crazy.
Trade Belt, sign Castellanos to play 1B and some corner OF when Posy needs a day off from behind the plate. Castallanos has experience at 3B, so 1B should
This is a brutal proposition.
My bad didn’t @reply
Heyward’s contract has blocked so many deals for premium outfielders. He is just average in CF, so all of his value comes from playing RF. Scwarber is a bargain in LF who hasn’t hit his best years, so Castellanos makes no sense at this point. The only players that make sense to trade are Bryant, Contreras ( due to the largest return), and Quintana. Bryant and Quintana in a package deal would look very good to the Braves considering they could wind up paying Donaldson big bucks anyway. Fried and Pache would be more than enough in return.
This would never happen. Fried to Quintana would be a downgrade, especially with Hamels coming in to show tutelage. CHC will want a package of more than just Pache, and I wouldn’t trade Pache for Bryant, sorry. We have too good of a farm to trade the top piece that we need. Part with Waters, if you want, no Pache.
That’s a horrific trade scenario. Quintana and Bryant are both overrated. Fried and Pache are young and cheap with many years of team control, something very important for a team that doesn’t typically spend a ton of money. If you trade Fried and Pache, it’s for a stud, not a dud.
Bryant would get those 2 plus 2 more alone. Yoi add Quintana and you can get at least a PTBNL or cash(10mil)
Wouldnt mind him on the cards. Rather have him than noodle armed ozuna. Plus ozuna always seems to strike out in those clutch moments and Castellanos thrives in those situations. Cards will never spend the money though
He seems like a good fit in Toronto. Potential for 30hr 90rbi 800+ OPS between LF/DH/1st (maybe).
The suggested price seems a tad steep for the Toronto front office so maybe if the cost or years comes down they can work out a deal.
At 27, Castellanos is young enough to be part of the Giants team rebuild and fill one of their holes. So to me, it’s not totally nonsensical from a baseball standpoint.
And even though people are saying that the Giants are not willing to do a big $$ deal right now, remember that they pitched a big deal offer to Harper last year, and Castellanos won’t be close to Harper money
In the end while I doubt that they will get a deal with Castellanos done, I would not be as shocked as some of they actually did
I think a big part of the Harper appeal was that he would draw more people to the park. Castellanos doesn’t really have that same effect, even though he isn’t that far off from Harper most seasons offensively.
Yeah, you are right with Harper. He would have put butts in the seats and generated interest where there really wasn’t any interest to generate. I know that Castellanos wouldn’t have that effect but I still think he would be a nice addition
Just a thought. How about trading crawford and Posey to the d-bags for ray and prospects. Sign nick cas and see what happens
Crawford and Posey have negative trade value. You would have to attach good prospects just to get a team to consider taking them. Ray has value, therefore this proposal is totally nonsensical.
My Blue Jays need to be all over Castellanos. Plug him in at DH, and throw him out in the outfield every now and then.. This is the guy the Jays need for them to be relevant again, and truly start a championship foundation along with the young guys they already have. Bichette, Gurriel, Castellnaos, Vladdy, Biggio, would be no joke to start off the first 5 in a batting order. Jays NEED to sign him.
He’ll be a Cub again!
To the Giants! The outfield is large enough to give him room to catch the fly balls, as previously stated. His offense and leader- ship would be much appreciated by fans and the team/FO. Sounds like he likes San Francisco and its culture. We need a nice young star to help with the rebuild. What’s not to like?! Now if we can only get Zaidi moving on the deal. He seems to be frozen in time right now.
Dark horses:
Angels – lot of room, RF open, DH open 2/5 days, lineup would be sick l
Nationals – why no talk of putting him at first? Would be nice get for lineup if they miss on the other JD
I think Angels would be a good fit, the only flaw is that they only have 3 LH bats as is, and if Castellanos replaces Goodwin in RF then you only have 2 LH bats. This is the exact opposite of the rangers right now.
I thought the same on both teams until Angels signed Rendon…they really need pitching though.
Nationals at first I like, but Kendrick will have something to say about that.
Right field is going to top prospect Jo Adell
This is the Rangers move right here, i’ve been saying all offseason that the rangers need to get Castellanos, Chirinos, and then trade for Max Muncy, put Muncy at 2nd and move Solak to third. That line-up would be sick, plus it gives us two more RH bats (Castellanos and Chirinos) Then Muncy replaces Odor for a LH 2nd basemen.
Stick Castellanos in RF, and move Santana to 1b. Yes our outfield would be Calhoun, Gallo, and Castellanos (which is defensively wrong), but Gallo is good in CF, and i’d take the lack of defense if I got that offense.
Why would you not put Cast at 1B? Leaves Calhoun, Santana and Gallo as your OF which is much better. Cast would have to agree to do it but a former 3B going to 1B is done all the time and usually with little difficulty.
Usually done with little difficulty by a competent 3B. Nick was not a competent 3b. Putting him at 1b could easily have a negative impact on the entire infield.
Did not know that Max Muncy is on trading block. I liked him when he was with the A’s. If he is available, it would be nice to get this ex Baylor Bear back to Texas.
1. Why would the Dodgers ever trade Muncy?
2. Why would you not simply put Castellanos at 1B?
They don’t need to cut any salary. They need to spend more. 55mil off the books doesn’t clear any salary tax threshold ? That would get them way under. Its 20 mil off the books just for Cole Hamels. I dont ter why they cant spend money other than the Ricketts being cheap
As a Giants fan, I’m ok with castllanos. But I would rather spend a little less and bring in Domingo Santana. Young enough to help bridge the gap to the prospects in 21,22 and 23. When his replacement is ready, trade him for more prospects.