How Nick Castellanos' departure led the Reds to Rookie of the Year Sal Stewart

When the Cincinnati Reds didn't pursue Nick Castellanos after the 2021 season, many Reds fans were furious. They saw it as another example of ownership being cheap and unwilling to spend on top-tier players.

Over two years, Castellanos was a stellar offensive player for the Reds, especially in 2021, when he hit .309 with a .938 OPS and 34 home runs as one of the few bright spots on an injury-plagued Reds team that ultimately missed the playoffs.

The Reds quickly moved on from Castellanos, not even offering him a phone call, as he told Chris Rose, and he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Over four years with Philadelphia, Castellanos never lived up to his billing, never hitting more than 30 home runs or better than .275. He made the All-Star team in 2023 but was released before the 2026 season.

Meanwhile, Castellanos' departure gave the Reds a compensatory pick in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft, which they used on Sal Stewart. On Monday night, Stewart was named NL Rookie of the Year after a 32-homer, 112-RBI season in his first full year on the Reds' big-league roster.

It's a wonderful lesson in how certain moves can have a domino effect and impact organizations for years to come. Cincinnati likely would have had to give Castellanos something close to the five-year, $100 million deal he got from Philadelphia as one of the more highly sought-after free agents in the 2021-22 class.

Stewart is now one of the trendier players in the league and could become one of its best pure hitters. He already is the best pure hitter on the Reds' roster.

The interesting thing is that Stewart winning Rookie of the Year gives the Reds another compensatory pick at the end of the first round, so another Sal Stewart could very well be on the horizon for Cincinnati.

Castellanos gave Cincinnati some awesome moments in his two seasons, but it's poetic justice that his best contribution to the Reds was his departure, which brought in someone who could very well become a franchise cornerstone for the foreseeable future. Stewart heads into the offseason still without a contract extension, as a possible lockout and collective bargaining talks have thrown a wrench into how small-market teams want to operate. The duo of Stewart and Elly De La Cruz could also be in question, as rumors about a possible De La Cruz trade continue almost daily.