One of the biggest free-agent bats on the market this MLB offseason has reportedly becoming a hot commodity in recent days.
Free agent Nick Castellanos is drawing interest from the #Marlins and #SFGiants, among others, as I reported a short time ago on @MLBNetwork. Castellanos, 29, is a graduate of Archbishop McCarthy High School in Southwest Ranches, Fla., about 25 miles from LoanDepot Park. @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 18, 2021
Castellanos used the opt-out clause in his contract with the Cincinnati Reds two weeks ago to officially became a free agent.
Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur draft, Castellanos made his professional debut in September 2013, and after hitting 11 home runs and collecting 66 runs batted in during the 2014 season, he finished eighth in that year's Rookie of the Year voting. Castellanos would stay with the Tigers until he was moved to the Chicago Cubs at the 2019 trade deadline.
Over his 837 games and 3,421 plate appearances with Detroit, Castellanos had 104 home runs, 424 RBI and posted a .274/.324/.459 slash line. Castellanos would finish out the 2019 campaign with the Cubs, notching 16 home runs and 36 runs batted in, to go along with a brilliant .321/.356/.646 slash line, in just 51 games and 525 plate appearances.
Castellanos signed with the Reds in the 2020 offseason, and in the pandemic-shortened season, hit 14 home runs and collected 34 runs batted in across 60 games and 242 plate appearances. The right-fielder broke out in a big way in 2021, setting career-highs in home runs (34), batting average (.309), on-base percentage (.362) and slugging percentage (.576), earning his first All-Star honor in the process.
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