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- The Cincinnati Reds have traded away or not re-signed almost all of their best players this offseason.
- Nick Castellanos, now with the Philadelphia Phillies, took a not very subtle dig at his former team’s ownership.
- Read more news about Major League Baseball here.
The Cincinnati Reds were expected to be a pretty good team in a relatively weak division in 2022. Cincy fans were very excited to see how their team, coming off back-to-back seasons in which the Reds have finished above .500 – the first seasons they have had a winning record since 2013.
Instead, the Reds decided to put the anti-tanking measures Major League Baseball implemented in the new collective bargaining agreement with the players to a very rigid test.
Following the CBA being signed, Cincinnati almost immediately traded away one of the best pitchers, Sonny Gray, and probably their two best position players, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez.
Were the Reds doing this in an effort to save money so they could re-sign outfielder Nick Castellanos, who hit .309 with 34 homers and 100 RBI in 2021?
Nope.
Castellanos ended up signing a new contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Nick Castellanos took a very thinly veiled shot at to Cincinnati Reds’ ownership
On Monday, John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia caught up with Castellanos to talk about why he made the move and Phillies’ owner John Middleton willingness to go over the luxury tax to sign him.
“That’s a lot of respect. At the end of the day, baseball comes down to ownership,” he said. “The owner either wants to invest and cares about winning, or doesn’t. So it speaks a lot to who he is. So Philadelphia should be pumped that that guy is behind the Phillies.”
Nick Castellanos' first interview as a member of the Phillies 🤩@JClarkNBCS catches up with Castellanos upon his arrival to Philadelphia: pic.twitter.com/MxJOkMPug3
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 21, 2022
While Nick Castellanos did not mention Reds owner Bob Castellini specifically by name, it doesn’t take a genius to understand what he was hinting at with his response.
Cincinnati Reds fans, still not happy over their team obviously tanking the 2022 season, were also able to read between the lines.
Related: Ken Griffey Jr. Will Be The Sixth Highest Paid Player For The Reds In 2022
https://twitter.com/CincyTron/status/1506047377483997192Shots fired at the Reds 👀👀👀
— Dre 3000s Ways To Protect Adam A (@Andre_CA7) March 22, 2022
He’s talking to you, Bob Castellini @CincinnatiReds #Cincinnatireds
— Travis Theiss (@travis_theiss) March 22, 2022
— CincyRaz 🐉 (@CincyRaz) March 21, 2022
Who would have thought the day would come that Mike Brown (infamous owner of the Bengals) cared more than the owner of the Reds?
— Dan Young (@djyoung619) March 22, 2022
Nick and Jesse's initial interviews are very telling about our ownership. Just confirms what most fans believe.
— Reds Rocker (@RedsRocker) March 22, 2022