2 Nick Castellanos RF

Castellanos is coming off a season with a career-low .298 OBP and his lowest slugging percentage since 2015, despite great Statcast numbers, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Despite being in the 97th percentile in barrels, 83rd percentile in hard-hit percentage and 82nd percentile in exit velocity, Castellanos managed just a .257 batting average on balls in play. That explains some of his struggles, but not all. He also struck out a career-high 28.5 percent of the time, up from 21.5 percent the previous season. There should be some correction in his BABIP, but unless Castellanos' strikeout rate corrects back to career norms, his batting average will be a significant risk.

Castellanos will remain with the Reds in 2021 after declining to exercise an opt-out clause in his contract, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Castellanos played all 60 games during his first season with the Reds in 2020, recording a .784 OPS with 14 home runs and 34 RBI. He has opt-out clauses in his contract following the 2020 and 2021 seasons, and it's relatively unsurprising to see him remain with the Reds for a second season since teams could have less financial flexibility following the abbreviated 2020 season.

Castellanos isn't in Saturday's lineup against the Twins.

Castellanos had started every game this season in his first year with the Reds, but he'll get a breather as the team prepares for the postseason. Jesse Winker will start in right field with Mike Moustakas resting his legs as the designated hitter.

Castellanos went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer and a strikeout during Tuesday's loss to the Brewers.

Cincinnati put up two runs before recording an out with Castellanos' two-run shot during the opening frame, but the offense mustered only three hits the rest of the night. The 28-year-old has a .230/.304/.510 slash line with 14 homers, 11 doubles, 36 runs and 32 RBI through 56 games.

Castellanos went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's win over the White Sox.

Castellanos got the party started in Cincinnati, mashing the first of four Reds homers off opposing starter Jonathan Stiever, ending a personal 10-game homerless drought. He has an OPS over .800 for the fifth consecutive season, but Castellanos' batting average is lagging behind at .234 over 210 plate appearances, and that's hurting him in traditional rotisserie leagues.

Castellanos went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Pirates.

Castellanos drove in the Reds' only two runs with his long ball off Chad Kuhl in the third inning. The right fielder now has 12 homers and 27 RBI to go along with a slash line of .243/.333/.563.

Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs during Friday's Game 1 win against the Pirates.

Castellanos had gone hitless with one walk, one RBI and three strikeouts over the past four games, but he bounced back in Friday's matinee. He now carries a .919 OPS with 11 home runs and 25 RBI this year.

Castellanos went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in a 6-1 win over the Brewers during the first game of Thursday's doubleheader.

The three hits set a new season high for Castellanos, while his third-inning solo shot gave him 10 homers on the year. The 28-year-old is hitting a modest .267 on the year, but his .988 OPS would establish a new career high if he can keep it up.

Castellanos went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in a 5-0 win over the Royals in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader.

Castellanos got aboard with a single in the third inning and scored on a Jesse Winker homer. In the fifth, Castellanos added an insurance run with his solo shot. The 28-year-old is slashing .272/.352/.691 with nine homers, 20 RBI and 17 runs scored in 22 games this season.

Castellanos went 1-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and a run scored in an 8-1 victory over the Pirates on Friday.

Castellanos began the season red-hot at the plate but recently had taken a slight step back in terms of offensive production. In a span of five games from Aug. 8 through Aug. 13, he failed to bring a run home and was striking out just under 38 percent of the time. He struck out twice more Friday and has not had a multi-hit game in over a week, but it was encouraging to see his power return as he blasted a 399-foot home run in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Regardless of his recent struggles, Castellanos is still towards the top of the league in home runs and RBI.

Castellanos went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Friday's 8-3 win over the Brewers.

His unbelievable run continued in Milwaukee with his 10th and 11th extra-base hits of the campaign -- the most in baseball -- including his seventh long ball. Castellanos is up to .340/.411/.840 and has pretty much single-handedly carried the Reds' offense so far. He's been batting second in recent days.

Castellanos went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and two strikeouts in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to Cleveland.

This is getting silly; Castellanos has hit safely in 11 straight games to begin his Reds career and has launched six home runs in his last seven games. With that, he now sits tied with Aaron Judge atop the home-run leaderboard. Four of the six homers have come at Great American Ball Park -- the Reds have played just three road games so far.

Castellanos went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's 3-2 win over Cleveland.

Fresh off being named NL Player of the Week, Castellanos nearly hit two more. He just got under one his first time up, but did not miss his second time up against right-hander Zach Plesac. Castellanos was batting out of the three hole for the first time in a Reds uniform.

Castellanos went 3-for-7 with a walk, two home runs, three RBI and two runs scored across both games of Sunday's doubleheader against the Tigers.

Castellanos was the story of the matinee; he slugged two homers against his former team in the first three innings but then made a bad error in the outfield which led to three unearned runs against Lucas Sims. Cincinnati won anyway, and it's easy to forgive Castellanos for one lowlight given all the highlights he has provided so far. The 28-year-old has hit safely in all nine games and is tied for fourth in the majors in RBI with 11.

Castellanos went 2-for-3 with a walk, grand slam and two runs scored Wednesday against the Cubs.

Castellanos took Rex Brothers deep in the fifth inning with the bases load to break the game open in Cincinnati's favor. He now has two home runs on the season, both of which have come in his past two games. Castellanos has now collected at least one hit in each of his six starts this season, and has reached base 11 times in 25 plate appearances.

Castellanos went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBI and one run scored Tuesday against the Cubs.

Castellanos began his night at the plate with a double in the second inning. He followed that up in the fourth frame with the highlight of his performance, taking an Alec Mills offering to the opposite field for his first home run of the season and as a member of the Reds. Castellanos has swung the bat fairly well to start the season, recording at least one hit in each of the team's five contests.

Castellanos (back) will bat fifth and play right field in Tuesday's exhibition game against the Tigers.

Castellanos has been dealing with a sore back since getting hit by a pitch in Friday's intrasquad game, but the issue never appeared to be particularly serious. He could be used as a designated hitter early in the year if not considered fully healthy, though his presence in right field Tuesday indicates he'll be set to fill the same role when the regular season kicks off Friday.

Castellanos (back) is expected to be ready or Opening Day on Friday against the Tigers, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Castellanos left an intrasquad game Friday after getting hit in the upper back by a pitch and remains day-to-day. Manager David Bell said Monday that he was "pretty confident" that Castellanos would be available for the start of the season, however. The outfielder mentioned previously that part of his reason for joining the Reds this offseason was due to the fact that he doesn't want to be a designated hitter (despite his poor defensive reputation), though he'd presumably be willing to fill that role for a few days at the start of the campaign if he's healthy enough to hit but not take the field.

Castellanos (back) is day-to-day, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

He was expected to return to action for Sunday's intrasquad game but was having trouble getting loose and is still sore, so he will sit for the second day in a row. If Castellanos is not ready for Opening Day, Phillip Ervin, Mark Payton and Josh VanMeter could be options to see extra playing time.

Castellanos (back) is not in the lineup for Sunday's intrasquad game.

He exited Friday's game and was held out Saturday but was expected to return to action in this scrimmage, so his absence is noteworthy. It is unclear whether his absence is precautionary or if his back is really ailing him. For now, Castellanos should be considered day-to-day.