2 Nick Castellanos RF

Castellanos (illness) will start in right field and bat third Thursday in the Reds' Cactus League game against the Brewers, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Castellanos returns to the spring lineup for the first time since Feb. 26 after the Reds kept him out of action as a precaution for more than a week due to the illness. The 28-year-old finds himself a little behind schedule now, but he'll have plenty of time to pick up the at-bats he needs to gear up for Opening Day.

Castellanos (illness) is expected to play Thursday in the Reds' Cactus League game against the Brewers, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Castellanos has been withheld from the Reds' spring lineups the past few days due to the illness, but he's apparently made a fair amount of progress since resuming workouts. It's unclear if Castellanos will be limited to designated-hitter duties Thursday or immediately take back a spot in the corner field, but either way, he's in no danger of missing Opening Day.

Castellanos' absence from Friday's lineup is due to illness, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

The report is a reassuring one after Castellanos was a late scratch for initially unknown reasons. There doesn't appear to be any reason to worry about the outfielder's readiness for Opening Day.

Castellanos was scratched from the lineup for Friday's game against Oakland for undisclosed reasons, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

It's not yet clear if Castellanos is dealing with a significant injury, or something minor. If he's forced to miss time, more at-bats would be opened up for Aristides Aquino in right field.

Castellanos agreed Monday with the Reds on a contract, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports. The outfielder will make $64 million over four years but can opt out after the first season, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com.

Though the Rangers and Giants remained in the bidding for Castellanos' services as recently as a few days ago, the Reds were able to make significant headway in negotiations with the 27-year-old over the weekend and have now finalized a deal. Castellanos will likely man right or left field as he heads to Cincinnati, presumably pushing Jesse Winker (neck) and/or Aristides Aquino to the bench as a result. While his outfield defense leaves much to be desired, Castellanos will provide yet another boost to an offense already brimming with quality talent, essentially filling the lineup spot that was vacated by Yasiel Puig. Castellanos has been an above-league-average hitter each of the past four seasons, slashing .286/.336/.504 (121 wRC+) over that span.

Castellanos (groin) has likely played his final game of the season, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

It doesn't sound as though Castellanos' groin tightness is a particularly major concern, but with just two games left in the season and nothing left to play for, the Cubs have little reason to bring him back. The outfielder's .289/.337/.525 season slash line and career-high 27 homers should earn him a sizeable contract as a free agent this offseason, especially since he'll be hitting the market as a 27-year-old.

Castellanos (groin) is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cardinals.

Right groin tightness led to Castellanos' scratch Friday, and he will remain out Saturday as Tony Kemp gets another start in right field. It's uncertain if Castellanos will play Sunday. A free agent this winter, Castellanos has hit .289/.337/.525 with 27 homers in 151 games between Detroit and Chicago this season.

Castellanos was scratched from Friday's game against the Cardinals due to right groin tightness.

Castellanos was slated to start in right field and bat second, but he'll head to the bench for Friday's series opener. Tony Kemp will man right field and lead off.

Castellanos is out of the lineup Thursday against the Pirates.

Ian Happ is starting in right field for Castellanos on Thursday as the Cubs -- who were eliminated from the playoffs Wednesday -- rest most of their starters.

Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Cardinals.

Castellanos' sixth-inning shot gave the Cubs a 2-1 lead that would vanish with a Cardinals ninth-inning rally. It was his 16th homer in 49 games as a Cub and 27th of the season, setting a new career best.

Castellanos went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored in Sunday's 16-6 win over the Pirates.

It's becoming a broken record at this point, but Castellanos has been an absolute stud since joining the Cubs via a trade at the deadline. He's now batting .343 in 42 games in Chicago with 15 home runs, 17 doubles, 33 RBI and 36 runs scored.

Castellanos went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI in Saturday's 14-1 win over the Pirates.

Castellanos has been on fire since joining the Cubs at the beginning of August. In 41 games, the 27-year-old outfielder is slashing .335/.367/.688 with 15 home runs, 33 runs scored and 33 RBI. Locked into a premium spot in a strong Chicago lineup, Castellanos should continue to produce at a high level the rest of the way.

Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, three RBI and a walk during a 17-8 victory over the Pirates on Friday.

The 27-year-old just continues to mash with the Cubs. Since coming over from the Tigers in a mid-summer trade, Castellanos is hitting .329 with 15 home runs. Incredibly, 28 of his 55 hits with the Cubs have gone for extra bases, giving Castellanos a .677 slugging percentage in the last 40 games. Overall, he is batting .289 with 26 home runs, 67 RBI, 88 runs and two steals in 570 at-bats between Detroit and Chicago this season.

Castellanos went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and three runs scored in a 10-2 victory for the Cubs over the Padres on Monday.

The 27-year-old just won't stop raking in his new uniform. He's now working on a seven-game hitting streak and has cranked three more homers and racked up four multi-hit efforts over that stretch, boosting his slash line up to .293/.340/.528 across 553 at-bats on the season between the Tigers and Cubs.

Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Friday's 7-1 loss to the Brewers.

The 27-year-old continues to rake for the Cubs. Castellanos has seven hits in his last four games, including two doubles and two homers, and in 33 contests since the trade from the Tigers he's slashing .343/.372/.708 with 13 home runs -- two more than he hit for Detroit this year in a third of the games -- and 25 RBI.

Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Tuesday's win over Seattle.

Castellanos plated a run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning and smashed a homer to right field with two men on base in the fifth. The 27-year-old has been an offensive powerhouse since joining the Cubs in a deadline deal, hitting .344 with 12 long balls and 24 RBI in 31 games.

Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four RBI in a 7-1 victory against the Brewers on Friday.

The 27-year-old continues to be one of the best offensive pickups from the trade deadline. Since joining the Cubs, Castellanos is batting .357 with 20 extra-base hits, including 11 home runs in 27 contests. Overall, he's hitting .291 with 22 home runs, 57 RBI, 81 runs and two steals in 515 at-bats this season with the Tigers and Cubs.

Castellanos went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and two runs scored in Wednesday's 10-7 win over the Mets.

Castellanos continued to mash since joining the Cubs at the trade deadline. In 25 games, the 27-year-old outfielder has nine home runs, 16 RBI and 22 runs scored. The power surge has also pushed Castellanos to 20 home runs overall, and he's now reached that plateau in three straight seasons.

Castellanos went 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI in Saturday's 7-2 loss to the Nationals.

Castellanos has been a hitting machine since joining the Cubs at the trade deadline, as he now has 12 multi-hit efforts in 22 games with the team. The 27-year-old outfielder is locked in as the No. 2 hitter in a strong lineup and should continue posting good counting stats if he keeps swinging the bat like this.

Castellanos went 4-for-5 with a two-run home run, another RBI and another run scored in Wednesday's 12-11 win over the Giants.

Castellanos continued to deliver at the plate, evening the score with a two-run homer in the first inning. He also hit an RBI single in the second, a single in the fourth and another single with a run scored in the eighth to cap off his successful night. Castellanos is now slashing .392/.429/.785 with eight homers since arriving in Chicago via a trade with the Tigers.