Wait a second. Someone that isn’t a reliever?
Correct. The Red Sox are considered to be one of the best offenses in the game, entering Monday with the sixth-most runs scored in the MLB. However, they are wildly inconsistent in that regard. When Chris Sale or David Price toe the slab for Boston, the Red Sox are a bottom-five offense in baseball –– whereas when anybody else but those two pitch, they are the best offense in baseball.
So, they need to find a little bit more stability on offense, which is where the name Nick Castellanos comes to mind. The 27-year-old has really come on strong the last few seasons to become almost a “Dollar Tree version” of J.D. Martinez. Since the start of 2017, Castellanos is slashing .282/.333/.489 –– good for an .822 OPS. He’s also belted 56 home runs, laced 103 doubles, and has even hit 18 triples in that time span.
Where does he fit in Boston?
This is quite a tough question to answer, in all honesty. The Red Sox, from a lineup standpoint, seem pretty much set in stone for the year. There’s not much to switch up among the regulars, unless Cora wants to remove Jackie Bradley Jr. from the lineup.
If he were to come to Boston, his versatility alone could provide some serious value. In his career, he has shown the ability to play the corners in both the infield and the outfield for Detroit. That being said, he’d likely be stashed at DH in Boston, with J.D. Martinez being primarily used in right field.
What would it take to get him?
Red Sox get: UTIL Nick Castellanos
Tigers get: OF Jackie Bradley Jr., RHP Denyi Reyes, OF Rusney Castillo, cash considerations
All in all, it’s a pretty decent haul going to Detroit to acquire Castellanos. How I see it, the Red Sox wouldn’t trade for the 27-year-old if he wasn’t going to play every day, nor would they outright remove Jackie Bradley from the everyday lineup. So the easiest solution is to deal the Gold Glove winner for the Tigers slugger.
On top of that, right-handed pitcher and Red Sox no. 18 prospect Denyi Reyes also heads to the Motor City. Reyes has tremendous upside, but hasn’t been able to take that next step since being promoted to Double-A Portland. In 10 starts there, he’s 1-6 with a 4.25 ERA. SoxProspects.com projects him as a long reliever, and has a back-end of the rotation ceiling. However, he doesn’t seem to be tapping into that potential in the Red Sox organization. Perhaps a change of scenery can change that for him.
As for Rusney Castillo? His Red Sox career can be defined by one word: Incomplete. He never truly got a chance to learn the game as a big leaguer, and just when he started to pick up his play here in the states, he was off the 40-man roster. He’s not exactly setting the world on fire down in Pawtucket this season, but he’s still be a solid player down in Triple-A for a few years. He deserves to play in the MLB, he just isn’t going to get that opportunity in Boston.
