For five and a half years, Nicholas Castellanos was a fixture in the Detroit Tigers’ lineup. He was a bright spot during some lean years: four seasons of at least an .800 OPS, five seasons of at least 30 doubles, and three seasons of over 20 home runs.
Yet as Tigers fans should have expected, his run with the team came to an end in the final moments before the 2019 MLB Trade Deadline, when the team traded him to the Chicago Cubs for two minor leaguers. Though Tigers fans appreciated his solid work with the team, it was inevitable that he’d be moving on with the team in full rebuild mode, especially since he was due to become a free agent at the end of the 2019 season.