Phillies

Phillies Reportedly “Had Recent Contact” with Reps for Nick Castellanos

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Nov 29th, 2021 · 11:21 AM EST

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Major League Baseball teams are beginning to make some moves. Marcus Semien to the Rangers. Kevin Gausman to the Blue Jays. Hector Neris to the Astros!

The Phils haven’t done much of anything yet, but apparently they’re sniffing around on Nick Castellanos:

Source: The #Phillies have had recent contact with reps for free agent Nick Castellanos. Of note, Dave Dombrowski was #Tigers President/GM when Castellanos was Detroit’s top pick in 2010. @MLBNetwork @MLB

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) November 29, 2021

Castellanos turns 30 in March. He was an All-Star this season who slashed .309/.362/.576, with an OPS of .939.

At this point we’ll turn it over to our resident baseball expert, Bob, for his take:

“Bat would be an awesome fit in the middle of the order. Flat out swings it. Since the start of 2020, Rhys Hoskins has slugged .522 with an .871 OPS. Nick Castellanos has slugged .550 with an .893 OPS. Would really lengthen the middle, also wouldn’t put burden on J.T. Realmuto to produce big power numbers. Realmuto has been really good. I get the sense some have been a bit underwhelmed because he’s sort of featured as a run producer/power bat in this lineup.”

Castellanos would have to play left field here. He’s been a right fielder in recent years and played third base at the start of his career, but with Bryce Harper in the fold it seems like left is the spot. He’ll come with a hefty price tag, but if the Phillies want to get over the hump, then they’re gonna have to throw around some more “stupid money,” because with a crappy farm system and crappy drafting record, that’s how talent is going to end up in Philly.

…and here’s a drive into deep left field by Castellanos; it will be a home run.

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