Detroit Tigers: Possible Nicholas Castellanos Trade Destinations

The Detroit Tigers are shopping Nicholas Castellanos this offseason. If they can trade him, where could Castellanos land?

Nicholas Castellanos was at one point the long-term third baseman option for the Detroit Tigers. Then the absence from the playoffs began and the entire franchise is in rebuild mode. Justin Verlander has already been traded and this offseason will include a further dismantling of a once very powerful team.

Among those trade candidates is Castellanos. The 25-year-old third baseman/outfielder is in his arbitration years and no longer that bargain chip in the lineup. Before he starts to make an impact on the payroll or possibly lose any trade value, it’s important for the Tigers to deal him away.

Castellanos did the Tigers plenty of favors with his performance at the plate in 2017. He hit a career-best 26 home runs and finished with 101 RBI. The .272/.320/.490 batting line wasn’t the best in any category, but only slightly below what he posted one year earlier and better than his career averages.

There is no doubt Castellanos can hit. It’s his questionable defense which makes him a harder sell.

Last year, Castellanos finished with a horrific -1.9 WAR on defense. He committed 19 errors at third base and finished with a .936 fielding percentage. The swiss cheese glove alerted the Tigers that they needed to make a change. Late in the season, Castellanos saw more starts in right field. Although he didn’t have an Alex Gordon transition, things were a little better. At least routine groundballs weren’t going through his legs.

The challenge in trading Castellanos is that his defense is so bad he might scare off a few clubs. A great bat can certainly win out over a glove made of brick, but the return might be smaller than the Tigers hoped.

While Castellanos certainly has value, the Tigers need to wait it out. Thankfully, teams like these three franchises could become a quicker fit.