It’s no secret that the Detroit Tigers are rebuilding, and right fielder Nicholas Castellanos wants no part of it.
David Meter, Castellanos’ agent, told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press that his client wishes to be traded before spring training starts.
Fenech reported back in December that the Mets and Tigers had discussions about Castellanos, though the Mets felt the price was too high.
The 26-year-old will be making $9.95 million for the 2019 season and then will become a free agent. Castellanos is coming off a strong offensive 2018 in which he hit .298/.354/.500, career-high 130 wRC+, 46 doubles, 23 home runs, and 89 RBI.
Castellanos, former third baseman, played exclusively right field in 2018 and it wasn’t pretty. In fact, his -19 defensive runs saved was the third worst among outfielders and his -24 outs above average was the worst by a significant margin (Rhys Hoskins, -18 OAA was next is next on list).
The Tigers moved Castellanos to the outfield after consistent defensive struggles at third base (-64 DRS in 527 games).
Despite the poor defense, Castellanos posted career highs with 2.9 bWAR and 3.0 fWAR last season. Teams still aren’t knocking down the door though according to GM Alex Avila as he said the following on 97.1 The Ticket, ”There’s not really a lot of people coming after him right now. It could change in spring training……But right now, really, I don’t have anything going on.”
The Mets still have a need for a starting caliber outfielder to compliment Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto. Now with A.J. Pollock signing with the Dodgers and Bryce Harper not likely, the Mets may have to shift their focus to the trade market if they hope to improve the position.
