Marlins 2020 Offseason: The quest to sign Nicholas Castellanos

Will the Miami Marlins lose out in the Nicholas Castellanos sweepstakes this offseason to another National League team?

As the Baseball Winter Meetings are on the horizon, the Miami Marlins look to have competition in trying to sign Nicholas Castellanos.

According to several sources, which include Bleacher Report, the San Francisco Giants are believed to be an organization looking to add his bat this offseason. The Marlins have been linked to the former Chicago Cubs star, who is a native of South Florida and would give Miami another legitimate power hitter in the middle of their lineup.

On Monday, the team announced it had traded for former Baltimore Orioles infielder Jonathan Villar and picked up Jesus Aguilar off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays.

"“Giants general manager Scott Harris worked with Castellanos over the second half of the 2019 season, having served as the Chicago Cubs’ assistant GM.” Joseph Zucker wrote."

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One of the reasons the Giants may also be interested in Castellanos is he gives the team a right-handed bat in the outfield while the starters last season for the team all hit on the left side.

The Marlins were one of the worst hitting teams in all of baseball last season and were at the bottom of the list with only 146 home runs in 2019.

Miami’s front office has made no reference to Castellnos in talking about this offseason. There are other players on the free agent the team is said to be interested, but nothing has materialized yet. It is expected this coming week’s meetings in San Diego will begin to open the door wider on the front office plans to add players who will not cost more money than the team is willing to spend.

One thing Castellanos may have to deal with in Miami is the configuration of Marlins Park, which has a deep and cavernous outfield. As Zucker added, the season for 27-year-old started in Detriot, but the move to the National League and the Cubs proved to be one that helped him hit the ball out of the park at a more successful rate.

"“Castellanos was putting up solid numbers for the Detroit Tigers to open this past season (11 home runs, 37 RBI, .462 slugging percentage) but expressed frustration about how Comerica Park’s dimensions were adversely impacting his production,” Zucker wrote.“Based on his improvement in Chicago, it’s hard to argue with the assessment. He had 16 homers, 36 RBI and a .646 slugging percentage in 51 games with the Cubs.”"

The Marlins additions of both Villar and Aguilar give the team options in the infield and the outfield. Castellanos can play third base, his natural position, or one of the corner outfield spots. Aguilar should be at first base. Villar can play in the middle of the infield or at third base.

Miami’s front office has made it clear since the new ownership group took over, it was looking for versatile players who could move around the diamond and in the outfield. It is also believed the Cubs still want to retain Castellanos’ services and are not of the running to re-sign him.