Although the Chicago Cubs might want to reunite with Nick Castellanos, and although Nick Castellanos might want the same thing, there won’t be a deal between those two sides until the Cubs move out significant salary *AND* open up logical playing time in the outfield.
And if Castellanos isn’t going to wait that process out – who could blame him? – another Chicago team might just swoop in and get a deal done.
Source: #WhiteSox remain interested in Nicholas Castellanos, following their signing of Dallas Keuchel. Their current payroll obligation is around $100 million for 2020, with room to possibly increase further. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 23, 2019
With a very good young core, and now additions of win-now veterans like Keuchel and Yasmani Grandal, it of course makes sense for the White Sox to keep pushing, especially if a guy like Castellanos really dug his time in Chicago.
That said, you could make the case that Castellanos is a dicey fit for a White Sox team that already added a sub-stellar defensive outfielder in right (Nomar Mazara), already has a terrible defensive left fielder (Eloy Jimenez), will need to give some DH appearances to Jose Abreu, James McCann, and Grandal, and may not have top prospect Luis Robert ready to go in center field right out of the gate. It’s a recipe for a bunch of bats, mashed together in an odd fit, without even a tiny bit of hope for the defense.
THE FLIP SIDE to that, though, is that sometimes you just really want the bat, and you worry about the rest later. That’s especially true in the American League, where Castellanos can get some of his plate appearances at DH (even if not all of them), and it’s also true where you’re going to want to sit Mazara against lefties anyway. Moreover, on a young and hungry team, can you think of a better free agent out there to add to your clubhouse than Castellanos?
In other words, when you look at the whole here, maybe Castellanos is a great fit for the White Sox after all.
I very much want to see him back on the Cubs – somehow, some way – but I recognize the unlikely series of events that would have to happen for that to occur (probably need Cubs to trade Kris Bryant AND either Jason Heyward or Kyle Schwarber, AND then you’d need the Cubs to believe he’s a capable corner outfielder for the next four-ish years, AND then you would need Castellanos to actually sign with the Cubs on a deal they decide to stomach).
Throw in the pursuit of the White Sox, in addition to the Rangers and Giants? How much longer is Castellanos going to be willing to wait on the Cubs’ unlikely series of events?