It’s time for the Colorado Rockies to go get Nick Castellanos

It’s official. Nick Castellanos has opted out of his contract with the Cincinnati Reds and is a free agent. With that in mind, the Colorado Rockies should be already preparing a contract offer with the plan of bringing the slugging outfielder to Denver.

When news broke on Thursday morning that Castellanos had officially opted out of his contract, it certainly wasn’t a surprise as the 29-year-old outfielder had long been rumored to leave Cincinnati in pursuit of more money than the two years and $32 million that was still left on his contract with the Reds.

Will the Rockies be willing to open the coffers to improve the outfield and add the power of Castellanos to the roster? The answer should be yes.

Why the Colorado Rockies should add Nick Castellanos this offseason

As our Noah Yingling discussed in his article detailing the dream Opening Day lineup for 2022 for the Rockies, the power that Castellanos displayed last season (34 homers, 38 doubles, and a slugging percentage of .576) would certainly play well at Coors Field. There has been plenty of talk about how the Rockies need to add power to the lineup, and Castellanos would immediately slot in around C.J. Cron in the batting order to give the Rockies more pop.

Castellanos has predominantly played right field during his days with the Reds, so the Rockies would need to figure out how that plays with Charlie Blackmon, who has been cemented as Colorado’s everyday right fielder since the start of 2019. However, with the designated hitter rule potentially coming into play in 2022, there could be some workarounds there.

While Castellanos would be a strong move, it also can’t be the only addition the Rockies make in not only trying to add power to the lineup, but also improve its outfield. Adding Castellanos and calling the offseason good would do nothing more than put a costly Band-Aid over what has been an oozing sore of offensive ineptitude.

Getting Nick Castellanos should be a big step the Rockies take this offseason. It just can’t be the only step the franchise takes.