Castellanos a scratch with abdominal tightness

SEATTLE -- Nick Castellanos was scratched from the Tigers’ lineup roughly 40 minutes ahead of their four-game series finale on Sunday against the Mariners with abdominal tightness. The right fielder is day to day.

“I expect to be in there tomorrow,” Castellanos said after Detroit lost, 3-2, in 10 innings on Sunday.

Castellanos said that he experienced soreness in his core area while taking cuts in the batting cage over the weekend, and that Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire had planned to eventually give him a day off soon since Castellanos had played in every game since April 17.

The timing comes as Castellanos is in the midst of what could be his final days as a Tiger. He’s believed to be Detroit’s most likely player to be moved ahead of Wednesday’s 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline, particularly given his status as an impending free agent at the end of the season.

Castellanos has regressed some offensively this season, slashing .276/.332/.466 over 98 games, but he’s been on a hot stretch of late. Castellanos is hitting .307/.358/.512 over his past 31 games, perhaps improving his trade value.

Castellanos has said recently told the Detroit Free Press that, despite his reluctance to change positions for the Tigers, he’d be open to moving around the field for an acquiring contender. Castellanos was brought up as a third baseman, and he played there every day until as recently as 2017. Castellanos has been prominently linked to National League clubs, most notably the Cubs, who could use a right-handed bat in a potential postseason matchup with the Dodgers, who have a bevy of left-handed starters.

“I've been dangled on this trade/waiver wire now since 2017 ended, and to try to speculate or guess or worry about what's going to happen is unnecessary,” Castellanos said earlier this week. “I did it a lot, and I'm kind of over it. So I'm just having fun playing with these guys, and whatever's going to happen is going to happen.”

Harold Castro, who is hitting .279/.292/.396 over 45 games, replaced Castellanos in right field, batting eighth.

The Tigers’ other trade chips are No. 1 starter Matthew Boyd and All-Star closer Shane Greene. Boyd started Sunday and struck out 10 in 6 1/3 innings in his hometown of Seattle and Greene was expected to pitch regardless of leverage, Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said, though he ultimately did not appear in the game because the Tigers were tied on the road going into the ninth inning.