The Chicago Cubs acquired Nicholas Castellanos at the trade deadline to spark the offense, and he’s playing with the hunger they need.
As a member of the Detroit Tigers, Nicholas Castellanos was trapped. Years of playing on losing squads in a too-big ballpark in front of lackluster crowds clearly tried his patience. A long-term contract wasn’t coming from his employers in Detroit, and it was clear his days as a Tiger were numbered. Basically, they were broken up but still living together.
"“This park is a joke,” Castellano told Chris McCosky of the Detroit News on July 21. “It’s to the point where how are we going to be compared to the rest of the people in the league in terms of power numbers, OPS, slugging and all that stuff when we got a yard out here that’s 420 feet straight across center field?”"
Number hunting and park blaming don’t look good on anyone. Still, the source of Castellanos’ frustration was obvious. Rarely was a player’s need for a change of scenery laid so bare.
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Much like Cole Hamels last season, Castellanos is playing inspired baseball since the change of address. Chalk it up to too much time spent toiling in the doldrums of the American League. Castellanos began his big league career with a cup of coffee on Jim Leyland’s 2013 squad that won 93 games and won a playoff series, but the high-leverage moments since have been few and far between.
There was his rookie season, when Castellanos took over the regular third base duties and the Tigers won 90 games, capturing the AL Central title. Castellanos went 1-10 with a home run in the playoffs as they were swept in three games by Buck Showalter’s Baltimore Orioles. End of list.
Since then, Castellanos has come into his prime as an offensive force for hapless Tigers teams that devolved into one of the leagues’ few surefire losers on an annual basis.
The Cubs went into the deadline looking for a player capable of inspiring an offense that all-too-often drags. They came away with a player they knew would be inspired by playing in a pennant race. Said Nicholas Castellanos:
Castellanos on Wrigley vs. Comerica: pic.twitter.com/TlvPMxyP84
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) August 20, 2019
In Chicago, Castellanos has feasted. Entering Friday’s action, he was hitting .378/.414/.756 with 8 home runs since donning Cubbie blue.
After Castellanos’ 2-4 effort in Friday’s game, he now has 11 multi-hit games in his first 21 with the Cubs, and his 45 doubles on the year are just one shy of his career-high mark. Now that he’s free from Comerica Park, those doubles have already started reaching the seats.
The Cubs were 57-51 when Joe Maddon stuck Castellanos in the two-spot and let him go to work. He’s not a panacea, but they’ve gone 12-8 in the first 20 games since the deal, and if the pitching staff can hold it together, Castellanos looks ready to be the guy for the offense that Hamels was for the rotation last summer.
Not for nothing, Castellanos has scored 17 runs in his first 20 games as a Cub. More to the point, he’s playing hungry, which is exactly what these Cubs need.