CINCINNATI, OHIO – SEPTEMBER 24: Nick Castellanos #2 of the Cincinnati Reds rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
After comments by Reds executive Phil Castellini rubbed fans the wrong way, Nick Castellanos spoke on their behalf.
Castellini’s comments were exaggerated in nature, as the executive threatened to move the team, in a joking tone, due to fan unrest.
“Well, where you gonna go?” said Castellini about Reds fans having no choice but to support this franchise. “What would you do to this team to make it more competitive? It would be to pick it up and move it somewhere else. Be careful what you ask for.”
That’s a veiled threat if I’ve ever heard one.
Cincinnati is in the midst of yet another rebuild, shedding payroll and allowing their best players to walk away (or in some cases forcing them out via trade). Castellanos is a good example of that, as the Reds never gave him a competitive offer in free agency.
Nick Castellanos: Reds fans deserve better
“What sucks is in a great city like Cincinnati where the fan base is impeccable, it’s suffocating because of ownership. I’m not saying that they are bad people. The system is bad,” Castellanos said.
Obviously market size does matter some in baseball — there’s only so much money around for the Reds to spend to keep up with the likes of the Yankees, Red Sox, Mets and Dodgers. But Cincinnati’s current payroll of just over $113.5 million doesn’t speak for the Reds’ talent level, and the face that they just shed as much talent as humanly possible to try and bring that number down.
Cincinnati let it’s entire starting outfield go from last season, including Castellanos and All-Star Jesse Winker. This is not merely about prospects, but the prospect of paying players their actual market worth.