Cincinnati Reds news: Pitcher Luis Castillo switches agencies

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Luis Castillo is a prime candidate to receive a contract extension before the 2020 season. Castillo will have new representation.

Once the 2020 season finally begins, Luis Castillo will have new representation. The Cincinnati Reds right-hander followed his agent, Rafa Nieves, to the newly founded Republik Sport agency. Nieves is moving on from Wasserman, taking Castillo and other top players with him. Castillo is a prime candidate to receive an extension this coming season.

The newly-found agency will be home to other players such as Gregory Polanco of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Alex Colome of the Chicago White Sox and Victor Robles of the Washington Nationals. Nieves has previously taken clients with him, as he moved on from the Beverly Hills Sports Council in 2017 to join Wasserman.

The Cincinnati Reds will undoubtedly be interested in extending Castillo’s contract in the near future; perhaps as soon as business picks back up and the delayed start to the 2020 season is behind us. Castillo is under team control through 2023, but will be up for arbitration after the upcoming season.

https://twitter.com/gorepublik/status/1244287892370812930

It’s very common for teams to negotiate with top talent before they reach free agency or even arbitration. The arbitration process can be a grueling one and also one that doesn’t allow for the team to have cost-controlled numbers at their fingertips. Organizations like to have finite numbers, not possibilities.

What a contract extension for Castillo might look like is anyone’s guess. He’s a pitcher and pitchers get hurt. You need look no further than Noah Syndergaard and Chris Sale to see that. However, Castillo is a top-flight pitcher who may be just starting to scratch the surface of his potential.

How might the change in representation change, what are likely to be, upcoming contract negotiations with Luis Castillo? We’re probably not going to see much change at all, as Castillo’s representative is still the same person, he’s just branched out to create his own agency.

There no reason for Reds fans to fear the change. We just saw Nick Senzel switch agencies this past season from Wasserman to the Boras Corporation. This kind of thing happens and will likely have little to no impact on Castillo’s future in a Cincinnati uniform.