Cincinnati Reds All-Star Outfielder Officially Opts Out Of Contract

Without any surprise, Nick Castellanos has officially opted out of his contract with the Cincinnati Reds. He was set to make $16 million in each of the next two seasons, but after his marvelous 2021 season, he should be able to get a nice raise from that on the market. Thus, it's a move that makes sense.

Nick Castellanos opts out. Castellanos, 29, had .309/.362/.576 slash line this year. Had $34M and 2 years to go. Now a free agent. #reds
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 4, 2021

In 138 games this season, Castellanos had 34 home runs, 100 RBIs and a .309 batting average. With that, he also appeared in his first All-Star game.

Although Castellanos is now a free agent, the Reds are expected to still heavily pursue him. He's been a perfect fit for them and is the type of player they should be building around. The Reds also shed some salary on Wednesday when they traded away catcher Tucker Barnhart.

However, there will be plenty of other teams in the Castellanos sweepstakes. We will have to wait and see where the 29-year-old ends up.