Chicago Cubs Acquire Nick Castellanos from the Detroit Tigers

The Chicago Cubs acquired Nick Castellanos from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for two prospects.  Castellanos will immediately slot into the Cubs lineup in the OF and provide a much need injection into the offense.

In adding Nick Castellanos at the deadline, the Chicago Cubs made their long-anticipated splash to add some offense.  Earlier in the day, they brought in utility man Tony Kemp.  Cubs fans probably figured they were done for the day until Ken Rosenthal dropped this tweet ten minutes after the deadline

The Cubs are acquiring a player who has been an impact bat in previous seasons but hasn’t exactly lived up to that billing this season.  Castellanos is hitting .273/.328/.452 (106 wRC+) this season which is well below his career mark of 109 and career-high of 130.

Nevertheless, he represents an upgrade in production that the Cubs have received in the Outfield this season with Kyle Schwarber at a 102 wRC+ and Albert Almora well below that.  Castellanos will likely slot into RF where his -6 defensive runs saved (DRS) and 4th percentile Outfield Jump will have his work cut out for him.

The move likely pushes Jason Heyward to CF full time where he is less capable defensively but the Cubs are rightly prioritizing offense and run-scoring which has been their Achilles heel over the past few weeks. Recently acquired Tony Kemp, incumbent Albert Almora, and Kris Bryant will likely see some share of late-inning replacements to shore up the defense.

I have probably been unfairly raging on Castellanos but I think the Chicago Cubs made an excellent move to get him.  Given his comments on Comerica Park being “a joke”, he is likely a hitter who grew frustrated and tried to do too much in his environment.

Castellanos will now be in Chicago and playing in a more electric environment and chasing a postseason.  Lastly, it should be noted that Castellanos is familiar with some of the Cubs players, namely Anthony Rizzo, Albert Almora who are around his age and played high school baseball in the Miami area.

The acquisition wasn’t free for the Cubs, however, as they send prospects Alex Lange and Paul Richan to Detroit in the deal.  Per FanGraphs, Lange was the Cubs 8th best prospect, meanwhile, Richan fell into the others of note section.

Alex Lange, 23, was drafted in 2017 after cruising through the SEC as a member of the LSU staff. Lange is a deceptive arm with a violent delivery who relies on a curveball and a fastball that ranges from 88-92.  He was recently promoted to Double-A and has thrown 39 innings with a 3.92 ERA and a 16.7% K Rate.

Richan, 22, is considered to be a strike-thrower with a full arsenal of pitches.  Through 92 innings in High-A, Richan is sporting a 3.97 ERA and 22% K rate.

The Detroit Tigers did well here too, acquiring two pitchers who have the potential to move quickly for the type of rental bat that teams do not value highly anymore.  The Cubs meanwhile are taking a hit defensively to bring a talented bat to the lineup.

Nick Castellanos will likely start a ton of games in LF and potentially be subbed out for defensive purposes later in the game.  Since the Chicago Cubs didn’t give up prospects with premium stuff, they likely won’t come to regret this move in the long run.