PITTSBURGH – Nick Castellanos wasn’t sure if last Monday was his final home game as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, but he prepared himself for the possibility.
Castellanos holds an opt-out clause in his contract, which could enable him to enter free agency this winter. He listened to the fans chanting his name in right field. He thought the weather was perfect. His wife, Jess, and his son, Liam, sat in the front row of seats near the dugout.
“I don’t know what is going to happen, but this has been the most consistent, happiest I’ve been playing baseball,” Castellanos said before the second-to-last game of the regular season.
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Signing a four-year, $64 million contract with the Reds before the start of the 2020 season, Castellanos held an opt-out clause in his contract after each of his first two seasons. If he doesn’t opt-out, he’s guaranteed $34 million over the next two seasons ($16 million in 2022, $16 million in 2023, a $20 million club option in 2024 with a $2 million buyout).
“I don’t have any information for you just because there is so many variables that still have not unfolded yet,” Castellanos said. “I don’t know what I want. I haven’t had these lengthy conversations with Jess, you know. I haven’t had any conversations about this with (agent) Scott (Boras). I mean, there is so much information that I’m going to take in. I also have to take into mind the status of the game. The collective bargaining agreement is now coming up.
“Once I take a step back from the season and have some days at home with my family and I’m able to just hang out with my wife, dog and kid, and we can just talk about what happened and get as much information as I can.”
The expectation across the industry is Castellanos will opt out because he’d become one of the best hitters on the free-agent market. He had an excellent season, entering Saturday with a .308 batting average, 37 doubles, a career-high 33 homers, 97 RBI and 94 runs.
Castellanos has been a free agent once. What does he think about the potential of being a free agent again?
“Of course, there’s stress, man,” Castellanos said. “These are major decisions. You have to balance everything that you possibly can: how much you like where you’re playing, how close it is to home because I’m co-parenting, where the organization is in the spot to compete, and, obviously, the financial part of it is important as well. It’s a balance of all of that, which will make the best decision possible. It could very well be here in Cincinnati. The bargaining agreement could go to (crap) and I’m not in a spot to opt out, so I have no idea what’s going to happen.”
Castellanos was disappointed the Reds fell short of the postseason – “We failed, plain and simple,” he said – but he noted he saw growth from younger players who will be in a good spot entering next year.
He was satisfied with the way his own season unfolded. He became a fan favorite with his hard-nosed style of play. He was selected to his first All-Star Game this summer and picked as a National League starter.
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“This was the most consistent 162-game season I’ve had,” Castellanos said. “Coming back from 2019 – 2020 is hard for me to just critique in any way because of how different it was – I’m proud of myself but there are areas that I do recognize that I fell short and can get better at.”
Where did Castellanos fall short? He says it’s hard to describe, but he says he can have a cleaner season. He was glad he remained in one position throughout his first two seasons with the Reds after shifting around defensively for most of his career.
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“I don’t like DH’ing right now, I like playing defense,” he said. “I like being involved in the game and honestly, for the first time in my professional career, being comfortable in a position that I haven’t been playing musical chairs as much. I am getting more comfortable. I feel better out there. I am also understanding areas, even now, where I have to get better and that I’m excited for that challenge. I think it’s really cool to do the best you can to feel younger, play better and be more athletic the older you get.”
After the 2020 season ended, Castellanos said he felt like he didn’t know Cincinnati. There were no fans at games. Players were essentially confined to their hotel rooms during the 60-game season.
As he ponders whether to opt out of his contract – the Reds can still place a qualifying offer and try to re-sign him if he does opt out – he’s enjoyed the chance to understand the city better.
“First off, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Reds organization,” Castellanos said, “just the history of baseball for Cincinnati, how they played the game, the pride they took in playing the game, the chip on their shoulder they played the game with during the time period that they were successful and winning. It’s just really enlightening to be able to tap into that. I think that being able to have conversations and learn about what the best Reds teams all had in common just to be able to take those characteristics as best as I could and just implement them in my game to make myself better.”
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