According to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, the Cubs appear to be the latest team interested in Tigers outfielder Nicholas Castellanos adding, “This one has some teeth”.
Castellanos has been at the forefront of trade rumors for Detroit pretty much all season as the Tigers apparently have zero interest in keeping the 27-year-old around or giving him a raise the $9.95 million dollar salary he’s currently making this season.
As for the Cubs, he’s not going to offer much in the defensive department however he’ll definitely add some power to a Cubs outfield that has struggled to some extent with Kyle Schwarber and Albert Amora.
Castellanos would be an immediate improvement for the Cubs against left-handed pitchers as Schwarber has seen little action against southpaws all season. Meanwhile, Castellanos’ potential addition to the lineup could in fact push the light hitting Amora out of the starting nine altogether while moving Jayson Heyward over to center. And although his defensive struggles wouldn’t be able to be hidden with the DH at the very worst Castellanos’ would be a pretty high-end platoon option with Schwarber.
According to MLBTradeRumors.com, Castellanos has slashed at .280/.339/.467 (111 wRC+) with 10 home runs in 404 plate appearances and has posted a formidable .887 OPS over the past 30 days.
