Phillies position players are scheduled for their first official workout next Monday. It’d make for an awkward situation if Nick Castellanos is still on the team. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported at the end of last season that the Phils would trade or release the outfielder. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has all but confirmed as much on the record, pointing to the need for a change of scenery.
Keeping Castellanos on the 40-man roster into Spring Training would be a needless distraction. It comes as little surprise that the Phils are motivated to get something done within the next week. “We’re doing everything we can to make a move by (Monday),” Dombrowski told reporters (link via Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “I’ll leave it at that right now.”
Dombrowski noted that they’re “(continuing) to talk to clubs” in trying to line up a trade. Whether that’s gamesmanship should soon be apparent. Castellanos isn’t going to net the Phillies any notable prospects. They’re trying to offload a fraction of the $20MM salary he’s owed in the final season of a five-year deal.
A release would leave the Phils on the hook for all but the $780K league minimum, assuming he signs a major league deal with another team. The hope is to find a team willing to eat a couple million dollars of that salary rather than waiting until the Phillies release him. If Castellanos becomes a free agent, he’d obviously have a choice of where to sign. He doesn’t have that freedom if a team lines up a trade that saves the Phillies a little bit of money.
The outfielder’s relationship with Philly manager Rob Thomson seemingly became untenable. Castellanos was benched for a game midway through last season after he made what the manager called “an inappropriate comment” after being removed from a game for defensive purposes. As his playing time decreased down the stretch, Castellanos took a shot at Thomson’s communication skills. Philadelphia signed the veteran skipper to an extension this offseason and added Adolis García on a $10MM free agent deal to replace Castellanos as the everyday right fielder.
Castellanos is entering his age-34 season. He’s coming off a .250/.294/.400 showing with 17 home runs over 589 plate appearances. He has been durable and has twice topped 20 home runs during his time in Philadelphia, but his rate statistics (.260/.306/.426) are exactly league average. That’s not what the Phillies had in mind considering Castellanos is arguably the game’s worst defensive outfielder. He should be a full-time designated hitter but obviously doesn’t have that luxury on a team with Kyle Schwarber.
FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each had Castellanos below replacement level last year. That said, a team that can offer him DH at-bats should view him as a capable complementary bat from the right side. The acquisition cost will be minimal, and a 20-homer season with strong numbers against lefty pitching doesn’t seem out of the question.
The Padres are looking for another bat in the DH/bench mix and made an unsuccessful run at signing Paul Goldschmidt away from the Yankees. The Guardians could use a right-handed complement to lefty swingers Kyle Manzardo, George Valera and C.J. Kayfus between first base, right field and designated hitter. No team had fewer home runs or a lower slugging percentage from their right-handed bats than Cleveland. The Marlins ranked 25th in slugging among righties and don’t have a clear answer at first base, and Castellanos is a Miami native. His old team in Detroit doesn’t have much in the way of right-handed power aside from Spencer Torkelson and could use him in a short-side platoon role at DH alongside Kerry Carpenter.
