Nick Castellanos not so casually asks Tigers to trade him
Nick Castellanos vented some frustration about Comerica Park on Sunday, and thus basically asked the Detroit Tigers to trade him.
As part of his 3-for-5 day, Nick Castellanos hit a walk-off home run on Sunday to give the Detroit Tigers a win over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Tigers are still just 13-34 at home this season, as they head for 100 losses with a 30-65 record entering Monday.
The Tigers are clearly a seller heading toward the July 31 trade deadline, with most rumors surrounding wide interest in starter Matthew Boyd and closer Shane Greene as contenders look to bolster their pitching. But according to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News, the Chicago Cubs are among the teams who are interested in Castellanos.
During an appearance with 97.1 The Ticket, Castellanos seemed to welcome the idea he could be traded as he lamented the hitter-unfriendly dimensions of Comerica Park.
"This park’s a joke. How are we going to be compared to the rest of the people in the league for power numbers and OPS and slugging and all this stuff when we’ve got a yard out here that’s 420 feet straight across to center field? We get on second base, third base, and [opposing players] looking [at us] like, ‘How do you guys do this?’"
Sunday’s home run was Castellanos’ 11th of the season, and just his third at home. He has a .284/.480/.822 slash-line overall, with an AL-leading 34 doubles, with a .265/.315/.405 slash line at home and a .303/.368/.553 slash line on the road.
Castellanos previously said he resisted a position switch late last season unless or until the Tigers gave him a contract extension. He has moved around the diamond a lot in his career, if only as part of effort to hide his ineptitude in the field (-33 Defensive Runs Saved in right field over the last three seasons, -25 DRS at third base in 2016 and 2017 combined). Quite literally, Castellanos negates a big chunk of his sabermetric value by being so awful defensively.
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Castellanos is also in the final year of his contract, and the Tigers don’t seem too motivated to extend him despite the fact he’s in his prime at 27 years old. All signs are pointing to a trade anyway, and Castellanos has practically asked to be moved just as interest in him is apparently ramping up.