Reds could borrow the Sonny Gray trade trick to secure the hitter they need

The way things are, the Cincinnati Reds are going to have to look at imperfect solutions for an offensive upgrade. It would be nice to splurge on a slugger like the Kyles (Schwarber and Tucker), but instead Nick Krall will likely need to make a calculated upside play.

One way to skin this cat is to find a distressed asset that also has a chance to bounce back. That means targeting an under-performing high-salary player and getting his current club to pay that down to a manageable level, like the St. Louis Cardinals did when they sent Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox.

In doing so, the Reds can fit a formerly fearsome slugger into their shoestring budget. One such player who fits the bill is a familiar face. The Philadelphia Phillies are desperate to move on from Nick Castellanos, and if they kick in some cash, the Reds could be willing takers.

A Reds reunion with Nick Castellanos could make some sense if the Phillies kick in enough cash

Castellanos has fallen a long way from his time in Cincinnati. In 2021 with the Reds, the slugger set career-highs in nearly every category, popping 34 homers over the fence while slashing .309/.362/.576. That performance was good for a 140 wRC+, which, of course, was a whopping 40% better than a league-average hitter.

The following offseason, Castellanos moved on to Philadelphia following the 2021 campaign, and it was more of a crash landing rather than a smooth transition. He saw his homer total fall to 13 and his wRC+ plummet to 95.

However, the next two years weren't that bad. While they weren't 2021 good, Castellanos hit 29 homers in 2023 and 23 in 2024, while posting wRC+ numbers of 108 and 104, respectively.

The real reason that Philadelphia would like to move on is due to what happened during his 2025 campaign. Castellanos managed just 17 homers while slashing .250/.294/.400. With one year and $20 million left on his contract, they're at the point where shedding that salary via trade is feasible, although it won't be easy.

For the Reds, there are still a couple of reasons to like Castellanos. The friendly confines of Great American Ball Park might be just what is needed to rejuvenate his ailing bat. Castellanos has seen his hard hit rates and exit velocities decline in recent years, but there is one skill in which he is still elite. The 33-year-old still launches the ball at trajectories that are likely to do damage. His launch angle sweet spot percentage in 2025 came in at 39%, which was an 88th percentile mark.

A friendlier ballpark could help aid a few of those balls with perfect flight paths in their journeys over the fence. Castellanos is also still slightly above average at pulling the ball in the air, with a rate of 18.3% versus the league average mark of 16.7%.

There are some obvious drawbacks. At this point in his career, Castellanos is a very poor defender and will have to spend the majority of his time at DH. Entering his age-34 season, it's unlikely that he fully recaptures the magic of his prime.

Still, he is a decent rebound candidate, and acquiring him shouldn't cost much in the way of dollars once the Phillies kick in some cash or prospects. When you're shopping on a budget like Cincinnati is, you're going to have to make some tradeoffs, and in the aggregate, Castellanos is an acceptable one.