The Cubs added four players to their roster Wednesday.
The most prominent of the bunch is Nicholas Castellanos, whom the team picked up seconds before the 3 p.m. trade deadline.
Here are some things to know about the new Cub, who is a career .274 hitter over seven seasons with the Tigers, including a .300 mark with an .868 OPS against left-handers. He will be a free agent after the season.
1. His high school coach had to wear a pink tuxedo.
Castellanos, who was born in Davie, Fla., finished high school at Archbishop McCarthy in Southwest Ranches, Fla. His high school coach saw the talent but pushed Castellanos to improve his baserunning.
“He had a fast 60-(yard-dash) time, but didn’t have that many stolen bases his junior year (seven),” his coach, Rich Bielsk, told USA Today in 2016. “I told him that if he led the team in stolen bases, I would wear a pink tuxedo to our team banquet. We had some other guys who could steal. … We had some flyers, but Nick took his running game to a new level. I’m 6-4 and 230 pounds. I couldn’t find a pink tux with a pink cumme*rbund that would fit me anywhere, so I had to special order it.”
The Tigers picked Castellanos in the first round (44th overall) of the 2010 draft. He made his major-league debut Sept. 1, 2013.
2. His first grand slam was off a familiar name.
Castellanos hit his first-career grand slam on July 22, 2015, against the Mariners at Comerica Park in Detroit. It was a blast, traveling 447 feet into left-center and caroming off a brick wall.
The pitcher was Mike Montgomery, who was traded to the Cubs on July 20, 2016 — and who earned the save in Game 7 of the World Series. The Cubs traded Montgomery to the Royals last month.
“When (Yoenis) Cespedes told me that it hit off the (Al) Kaline name out on the brick wall, I didn’t believe him at first,” Castellanos told MLB.com of his third-inning shot. “But then some other people told me that it was true, and I was, like, ‘Man, that’s probably the farthest ball I ever hit in my life.’ “
3. He drafted his younger brother.
Five years after the Tigers drafted Castellanos, they selected his younger brother, Ryan Castellanos, in the 25th round in 2010. Ryan, a right-handed pitcher, played for the University of Illinois in 2013 and 2014.
The Tigers let the older brother make the announcement.
“Detroit Tigers select ID number 3369, Castellanos, Ryan, right-handed pitcher … brother of myself,” Nicholas said.
Ryan, whom the White Sox originally drafted out of high school in 2012, last pitched in 2018 for the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League.
4. He was a podcaster.
During spring training in 2018, a Tigers media-relations staffer suggested a players podcast.
“Happened to be at the table at the time when we were talking about ideas,” Castellanos told MLB.com. “It wasn’t like I was looking for it. It was just kind of a situation that fell into my lap. They asked if I’d be up for it and I said yeah.”
His partner was Tigers closer Shane Greene, who at first was dubious.
“What’s the worst that could possibly happen,” Castellanos asks on the first episode.
“The worst thing that could happen is people think that we’re idiots,” Greene replied.
When asked to describe the venture, they said: “Our podcasts are a lot like Bob Ross’ paintings — we just wing it, it just happens, happy clouds, happy trees, no mistakes, just happy accidents.”
Their Tigers podcasting career ended Wednesday. Green was traded to the Braves and Castellanos to the Cubs.
5. He’s no fan of Comerica Park.
Castellanos led the American League in triples in 2017 with 10 and is leading the majors in doubles with 37 this season. A lot of those might have been home runs if he weren’t hitting in Comerica Park, he said.
“This park is a joke,” Castellanos said last month. “How are we going to be compared to the rest of the league in power numbers, OPS, slugging, all this stuff, when we’ve got a yard out here that’s 420 feet straight across to center field?”
Comerica’s dimensions: 345 feet down the left-field line, 370 to left-center, 420 to center, 365 to right-center and 330 to the right-field corner.
Wrigley’s dimensions are kinder up the middle: 355 down the left-field line, 368 to left-center, 400 to center, 368 to right-center and 353 down the right-field line.
6. He’s also no fan of ‘Pokemon Go.’
At the height of the “Pokemon Go” craze in 2016, reporters, for some reason, asked Castellanos about the phenomenon.
“All my friends tried it, and all they do is walk around with their heads down in their phones looking for Pokemon,” he said. “Congratulations, does that make you any more successful in life? No. But people love that game, so it is what it is.
“We were on a boat during the break, and my buddy’s driving the boat, trying to look for Pokemon in the water. It’s ridiculous.”
7. The first time he played at Wrigley Field, he was in high school.
On Aug. 8, 2009, Castellanos played in the Under Armour All-American high school showcase at Wrigley Field. He won the Silver Spikes Award as the most valuable player.
Later that year, he won a gold medal at the Pan American Junior Championship Games as a player on the 18-and-under U.S. team.
In 2011, MiLB.com asked him to compare the two experiences.
“You’ve played in Wrigley Field and in Venezuela and now with the major-league club in spring training. It’s a weird question for somebody at the beginning of his career, but what’s been the highlight so far?”
“Probably Wrigley Field,” Castellanos replied. “That day was really, really good.”
Sources: Chicago Tribune reports, baseball-reference.com, USA Today, MLB.com, Detroit Free Press
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