It was reported by Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press in December that the Detroit Tigers approached Nicholas Castellanos about a contract extension. Those talks never “took off,” according to GM Al Avila, and the extension has not been bought up since. Tigers fans have wondered if Castellanos even wanted to be apart of a Tigers rebuild? Was he going to leave Detroit after the 2019 season when he becomes a free agent? These thoughts have continued to linger as Spring Training approaches.
However, that changed yesterday when the third-baseman-turned-right-fielder sat with reporters and talked about his future among other things. This is what he had to say when asked about his future courtesy of Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press,
“I would love to,” he said. “When I sit in my backyard and I’m looking up and just daydreaming about my dream career…I’m the kid that helped bring the World Series back to Detroit. That’s plan A: I never leave and I play 23 years in the big leagues here and I’m an unbelievable right fielder and now I’m in conversations with Al Kaline. That’s the dream. That’s the goal. That’s what I love.”
Nicholas Castellanos is entering his fifth full season with the Tigers after being drafted by the team in the first round (44th overall) of the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft. He has improved in each of his previous four seasons (after appearing in 18 games in 2012). Last year, Castellanos led the American League in triples (10), adding 26 homers, 101 RBI’s, a .272 average, and an .811 OPS.
Here’s to hoping what Nicholas says is what he actually does, because nothing would endear him to Tigers fans more than being a man of such lofty words.
