GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Nick Castellanos made such an eye-opening impact in the Cubs’ lineup and in their clubhouse last summer that he became a symbol for almost everything that happened – and didn’t happen – since the season ended.
“He’s reminding us what hunger looks like,” then-manager Joe Maddon said last summer in an unwitting harbinger of the changes and attempted changes that followed – including the manager.
An offseason later, the free agent fans clamored most for the Cubs to re-sign and that the Cubs couldn’t afford, sits in the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse on an early-spring morning, deftly trying to avoid pointing fingers as he answers questions about what might have been lacking or dysfunctional with a Cubs team that missed the playoffs for the first time in five years.