Chicago Cubs: Team needs to consider Castellanos extension

The Chicago Cubs made one of the best moves at the trade deadline to help out their offense adding slugger Nick Castellanos. Is an extension in order?

It’s no coincidence that the Chicago Cubs offense has had a little more fire power lately. They made one of the smartest decisions quite literally under the wire at the trade deadline, acquiring the services of right-fielder Nick Castellanos in exchange for pitching prospects Alex Lange and Paul Richan.

As I am writing this, he just smacked his 5th home run in 12 games with the team. He’s slashing 0.370/0.408/0.761 since coming over to the Cubs and has been the much-needed boost for this team.

The Cubs have taken their hits this season, with Ben Zobrist leaving the team for several months and now working his way back, an underperforming Albert Almora, and the shocking demotion of Ian Happ to start the season. Speaking of hits, Theo Epstein had hoped that his core group of players would bounce back this season after they limped to the finish line in 2018.

That hasn’t happened and we could ultimately end up seeing a shakeup this offseason if the Cubs end up faltering late in the season. What is guaranteed is that the team will have some money coming off the books from Ben Zobrist, Pedro Strop, Brandon Kintzler, Steve Cishek, and Cole Hamels.

Given Castellanos’ performance thus far with the Cubs and his track record, the team would be smart to use some of the combined $54 million to lock up the former Tigers number one prospect to a long-term deal. Remember, he is still just 27-years old and while he doesn’t play the best defense in right-field, he more than makes up for it with his bat.

While I think most fans would agree that a deal in the area of 6-7 years is far too much, a 4-year deal with options would be far more attractive for both the Cubs and Castellanos. He is likely looking for a payday this offseason but could stick around for the synergy he’s built up with the rest of the Cubs roster in such a short amount of time.

The aforementioned Almora hasn’t proven to be the real deal as an everyday player and the Cubs could end up not tendering a contract to him this offseason. This move would allow for Jason Heyward to see more time in centerfield in 2020, which obviously then leaves an opening in right-field. I understand he’s played in just 12 games for the Cubs, but his track record should be more than enough to warrant a long-term deal to remain on the north side.