Cubs Letting Nicholas Castellanos Leave for Reds is Going to Come Back to Haunt Them
By Jerry Trotta
We have officially run out of words to describe the Chicago Cubs' passivity this offseason, and their lack of offseason spending may have just been them square in the rear end on Monday.
The Cincinnati Reds benefitted from Chicago's mystifying apathy by completing the signing of free agent outfielder Nicholas Castellanos on a four-year, $64 million contract. The deal includes an opt-out clause after both the first and second seasons.
The opt-out in Nicholas Castellanos' four-year, $64 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds is after the first season, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 27, 2020
What more is there to say? As soon as Castellanos arrived in the Windy City from Detroit, he transformed the entire dynamic of the Cubs lineup. The spark he imposed was almost enough to will the club into a spot in the playoffs.
Castellanos launched 16 homers and drove in 38 RBI in just a 51-game sample in Chi Town. Talk about making a strong early impression.
Rather than place diligent efforts into retaining him, Theo Epstein and Co. opted to pinch their pennies to a level we didn't think was possible -- especially for a team with World Series aspirations.
A first-year opt-out gives Nicholas Castellanos quite the palette of choices:
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 27, 2020
- If he has a monster 2020, he'll opt out at 29 and hit FA jackpot
- Worst-case scenario in the opt out: Gets QO'd at ~$18M for 2021, FA at 30
- Poor year: Doesn't use opt-out, gets his full $64M
After the first wave of bombshells, it became evident that Castellanos was going to be one of the last "big name" free agents inked this winter, and the Cubs, for whatever reason, didn't make much of an effort to bring him back to Wrigleyville.
The opportunity was there for months, and now the Cubs will have to watch him terrorize opposing pitchers in their own division. They blew it, and deserve the inevitable domino effect.