Tigers Asked Nick Castellanos to Move to First Amid Defensive Struggles and He Passed
By Jared Kish
Detroit Tiger Nick Castellanos has made his fair share of errors in the field throughout his tenure in the MLB. Fielding has always been a weak part of his game no matter where the Tigers put him.
Castellanos has moved all around from starting at shortstop as a young prospect in the minors to eventually moving to third right before he came up with the big league club. With Miguel Cabrera out last season and now being the primary DH in Detroit, the Tigers asked Castellanos to move to first base.
So much interesting stuff here. DET did ask Castellanos to move to 1B and he said no.
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) June 11, 2019
He's gone from -24 OAA to 0, or avg.
His reaction time has gone from -0.8 ft below avg to +0.3 ft above avg.https://t.co/stHqdipQt2
The Tigers right fielder turned down the offer to go play first and said he wanted to improve in the outfield first.
It can't be taken away that Nick has made the necessary improvements in the outfield this year. Castellanos has gone from a -24 OAA to 0 which is a nice leap, and his reaction time has jumped from -0.8 to +0.3 above average.
Nick Castellanos recently talked about his development as a right fielder, and it came with some interesting insight as his odyssey with the Tigers continues.https://t.co/ggWgv44L9I pic.twitter.com/dxPxWfC2UO
— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) June 10, 2019
Castellanos' reasoning for his defensive struggles is that he moved around too much. He could never really get situated at one position. He was playing musical chairs from the start of his professional career.
Though Castellanos looks like he's quieting the doubters and is becoming more comfortable in right field, the Tigers will look for further strides as they shop him close to the trade deadline.