Earlier reports, suggested that Philadelphia Phillies were open to trading Nick Castellanos. Those reports have been denied as the Phillies have no intentions on trading the outfielder, according to Buster Olney of ESPN.
Castellanos may have high trade value after his performance in the 2023 playoffs, but the Phillies aren’t going anywehere either. They’ll still have a chance to compete in the National League next season.
Olney and Feisand both have long track records of reporting accurate information. So who’s right here? It’s entirely possible that earlier during the week, the Phillies were looking to move Castellanos at the MLB GM meetings. They might not have received as much interest as they were hoping for, pulled back and are now proceeding with him as the right fielder next season. It’s also possible that the Phillies hoped to gauge what interest there would be in Nick Castellanos while keeping it on the down low, only to see that another team leaked that the Phillies were seeing what was there.
Even if the Phillies were gauging trade interest, a trade was not a guarantee. The Phillies have plans to move forward with Bryce Harper playing first base, which will likely Rhys Hoskins‘ time with the team. That is of course, if the Phillies hadn’t already reversed course. Though, that wouldn’t make sense.
In any deal, the Phillies would likely have to pay some of the $60M that Castellanos is owed over the next three seasons. Doing that with a minimal return and either bringing back Hoskins or signing a free agent outfielder would be a lateral move, at best.
Castellanos is not a perfect player, he’s incredible streaky. When he struggles, like his 1-for-24 streak in the NLCS, its ugly. When he’s on, he can carry an offense. The Phillies knew that they were getting that when they signed Castellanos to 5-year/$100M deal.
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