All-Star Reds OF Nick Castellanos opts out of contract, becomes free agent
Cincinnati Reds slugger Nick Castellanos recently wrapped up the first All-Star season of his nine-year career and now is looking to cash in.
According to MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman, the 29-year-old has used the opt-out clause in his deal with the Reds and is now a free agent.
Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first round of the 2010 MLB June Amateur draft, Castellanos made his professional debut in September 2013, and after hitting 11 home runs and collecting 66 runs batted in during the 2014 season, he finished eighth in that year's Rookie of the Year voting. Castellanos would stay with the Tigers until he was moved to the Chicago Cubs at the 2019 trade deadline.
Over his 837 games and 3,421 plate appearances with Detroit, Castellanos had 104 home runs, 424 RBI and posted a .274/.324/.459 slash line. Castellanos would finish out the 2019 campaign with the Cubs, notching 16 home runs and 36 runs batted in, to go along with a brilliant .321/.356/.646 slash line, in just 51 games and 525 plate appearances.
Castellanos signed with the Reds in the 2020 offseason, and in the pandemic-shortened season, hit 14 home runs and collected 34 runs batted in across 60 games and 242 plate appearances. The right-fielder broke out in a big way in 2021, setting career-highs in home runs (34), batting average (.309), on-base percentage (.362) and slugging percentage (.576), earning his first All-Star honor in the process.
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