Nick Castellanos loved his two months with the Cubs after he was shipped away to Chicago on the last day of the trade deadline. The Cubs loved everything Castellanos brought to the table.
The 27-year-old free agent and the Cubs reportedly have mutual interest in working out a deal to bring back the outfielder in 2020 and beyond, but as the suitors continue to line up for Castellanos a reunion doesn’t seem as likely as it once did when he was carrying the offense in August.
The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma broke it down perfectly on Thursday.
It’s not necessarily breaking news or the discovery of new information, but when you start to dig into what re-signing Castellanos would mean for the Cubs it doesn’t coincide with the direction they appear to be headed.
The lack of financial flexibility (I’m rolling my eyes too) is obviously brought up, but then you also look at how the outfield defense would take shape. Jason Heyward is still a good defensive right-fielder, but bringing back Castellanos would mean he moves to center, where Heyward’s defense is average and will decline as years go by.
The Cubs have Kyle Schwarber in left and although he’s not the bumbling outfielder fans think he is, he’s also not a future gold glove winner either. Schwarber, Heyward and Castellanos left to right isn’t something the Cubs would like defensively.
So, you might say, just trade Schwarber and move Castellanos to left and keep Heyward in right. That doesn’t seem to be something the Cubs are considering.
Via The Athletic.
If the Cubs were hell-bent on bringing Castellanos back, they would have to aggressively try to deal Schwarber. The Cubs view them as pretty similar players, although Castellanos has a longer offensive track record and is further along in his development. But as they see it, they’re unlikely to get the return for Schwarber they believe he should merit, which tempers their enthusiasm for such a move.
We all remember what Castellanos did on offense for the Cubs and maybe it’s because Schwarber hasn’t lived up to high expectations placed on him by the front office, but it’s probably a reason some fans forget that he was actually better than Castellanos in the final two months of 2019, and has a higher career OPS than him too.
Castellanos has a longer track record and it’s definitely reasonable to see his power numbers continue to go up away from Detroit, but Schwarber made major adjustments in 2019 that give plenty of hope that he does indeed develop into a better overall hitter.
Oh and back to the financial aspect of this decision between Schwarber and Castellanos. Schwarber is only projected to get at most $8 million in arbitration for his 2020 salary with one more year of team control before he becomes a free agent. Meanwhile, Castellanos is estimated to get a four-year contract worth about $60 million in free agency.
And that price might go up if Scott Boras can work his magic.
The Reds, Marlins and White Sox have so far emerged as teams having the most interest in Castellanos early on in free agency.
As for the Cubs, they seem to be more concerned about adding a center fielder than bringing back Castellanos.
Via The Athletic.
Unless that changes and Schwarber suddenly becomes a hot commodity on the trade market, the expectation is the Cubs head into 2020 with him in left field and Heyward in right. While the Cubs have nothing but positive things to say about Castellanos and his short time in the organization, their focus right now when it comes to the outfield is attempting to upgrade center field.
If only the National League had the DH. But it doesn’t and it doesn’t really sound like Castellanos is coming back to the Cubs either.
