Giants Rumors: SF Interested in Nick Castellanos; Cubs Hope to Retain Slugger

The San Francisco Giants have entered the Nick Castellanos sweepstakes, according to MLB.com's Jon Paul Morosi.

Morosi added the Chicago Cubs remain hopeful of reuniting with the 27-year-old.

Giants general manager Scott Harris worked with Castellanos over the second half of the 2019 season, having served as the Chicago Cubs' assistant GM.

San Francisco non-tendered Kevin Pillar on Monday, which made him a free agent. While Castellanos has never played in center field, his arrival would give the Giants the everyday outfielder they lost by parting ways with Pillar.

Morosi also noted Mike Yastrzemski, Alex Dickerson and Steven Duggar, who projected as the team's starting outfield, all bat left-handed, so Castellanos would bring a little more offensive balance.

Castellanos was putting up solid numbers for the Detroit Tigers to open this past season (11 home runs, 37 RBI, .462 slugging percentage) but expressed frustration about how Comerica Park's dimensions were adversely impacting his production.

Based on his improvement in Chicago, it's hard to argue with the assessment. He had 16 homers, 36 RBI and a .646 slugging percentage in 51 games with the Cubs.

Signing with the Giants might lead to the same problems Castellanos experienced in Detroit, though. In ESPN.com's park factors, Oracle Park was last in runs and home runs.

Letting Pillar go was a surprising move by San Francisco because he's a solid defender who set career highs in home runs (21) and RBI (88). But turning around and signing Castellanos would show the Giants are still looking to improve following a third-place finish in the National League West.