The Reds’ signing of Nick Castellanos prompted immediate speculation, both inside and outside the organization, that the team’s next move might be a trade for a premium shortstop such as the Indians’ Francisco Lindor or Dodgers’ Corey Seager.



Not so fast.



Castellanos’ $16 million salary for 2020 pushes the Reds’ payroll to $143.3 million, according to RosterResource. That figure would be a club record, and almost certainly would take the Reds out of any consideration for Lindor, whose salary in ’20 will be $17.5 million.



Seager, at $7.6 million, would be a better financial fit, but the Reds showed interest in him earlier this offseason only as a part of a three-team trade, according to major-league sources. The deal, which would have sent Seager to the Reds, Lindor to the Dodgers and prospects to the Indians, failed to materialize.



For now, the Indians’ talks involving Lindor appear dormant. The Dodgers...