
Spoelstra: No need to penalize Ball any further
Erik Spoelstra supports no further penalties for LaMelo Ball after flagrant foul.
Nick Castellanos played a crucial role in the Cincinnati Reds acquiring Sal Stewart. The former Reds slugger's influence is highlighted as a key factor in Stewart joining the team.
Nick Castellanos is the reason the Reds got Sal Stewart originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Cincinnati Reds are enjoying the heck out of the fact that Sal Stewart plays for their baseball team right now.
They have Nick Castellanos to thank for that.
It's definitely an underrated narrative, but it's true. The former Reds slugger, who has since moved on to the Phillies and then to the Padres, is the direct imprint that brought Stewart to town.
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Castellanos was a free agent after the 2021 season, and the Reds extended him a qualifying offer.
He rejected the QO.
With the rejection of the qualifying offer comes a compensatory pick for the Reds when Castellanos signed for $100 million with the Phillies.
That compensation pick was No. 32 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft.
That's the pick the Reds used to pick Stewart.
At this point, Stewart looks like one of the best rising young sluggers in baseball.
Castellanos declined in Philadelphia, especially on defense but also at the plate, and the Reds definitely can't regret losing him.
Even if they hadn't gotten Stewart, it was probably money well-saved.
With Stewart? This sequence couldn't have worked out any better for the Reds.
Nick Castellanos' previous association with the Reds is credited as a significant factor in the team's decision to acquire Sal Stewart.
After leaving the Reds, Nick Castellanos played for the Phillies and then moved to the Padres.
Sal Stewart is a player for the Cincinnati Reds, and his acquisition is seen as a positive development for the team, thanks in part to Nick Castellanos' influence.

Erik Spoelstra supports no further penalties for LaMelo Ball after flagrant foul.
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