The Cincinnati Reds have interest in providing a change of venue for Nicholas Castellanos as far as NL Central teams go. Castellanos finished the 2019 season with the Chicago Cubs, but the Reds are in dire need of outfield production, and they could look to add an impact bat in free agency.
Indeed, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports that the Reds have expressed interest in Castellanos, as well as fellow NL Central outfielder Marcell Ozuna.
Reds are interested in Castellanos as well as Ozuna. They had up-close look at both in NL Central.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 14, 2019
Castellanos labored through an excruciating first half as a member of the Detroit Tigers, but his fortunes changed when he was flipped to the Cubs at the July trade deadline.
In 51 games with the Cubs, Castellanos slashed .321/.356/.646 with 16 homers and 21 doubles, finishing the season as the MLB leader in doubles (58). Despite criticisms about his defensive abilities, Castellanos was closer to an average fielder in right, which should help his market significantly.
He is also one of the youngest assets in free agency, as Castellanos turns 28 in March.
The Reds need another bat to supplement Aristides Aquino and Jesse Winker. They brought in Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig to do just that last season, but both players were gone by the end of July.
Though Eugenio Suarez is in his prime, Joey Votto has shown signs of regression, and Nick Senzel is still young and developing. Castellanos would give the Reds a legitimate run-producer with gap-to-gap power.
Cincinnati has one of the most promising starting rotations in baseball, but they are in the market for hitters this winter. They could certainly do worse than Castellanos, who may be more productive (and cheaper) than Ozuna in the long run.
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