SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Phillies have had great success the last two seasons, reaching the World Series in 2022 and the NL Championship Series last October.
But as Philadelphia begins its offseason plans to be the last team standing in 2024, it appears a key cog in its lineup could be moving.
According to a source, the Phillies are open to the idea of trading Nick Castellanos, whose mixed fortunes and disappointing performance in the NLCS could lead to an offseason move.
Jorge Soler and Teoscar Hernández are among the right field options on the free-agent market, so the Phillies could take the $20 million per year they owe Castellanos over the next three seasons to sign his replacement. Other players like Boston’s Alex Verdugo could also be available in trades.
Although president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Wednesday that Bryce Harper should remain at first base full-time, the Phillies could also make a move by moving him back to right field and re-signing free-agent first baseman Rhys Hoskins missed the entire 2023 season after suffering a torn ACL during spring training.
Castellanos’ numbers for the entire 2023 season were solid, as he hit 29 home runs with 106 RBIs and a .788 OPS in 157 games. He posted strong numbers in April (.878 OPS), June (.954 OPS) and August (.860 OPS), but he slumped in May (.695 OPS) and July (.497 OPS) and then had an OPS of .570 from August 13 to September 8, prompting manager Rob Thomson to relegate him to eighth in the lineup and place him no higher than sixth for the remainder of the regular season.
Castellanos’ cantilever chairs were a problem; He ranked in the bottom 2% of the league in chase percentage, bottom 5% in whiff percentage and bottom 12% in walk rate. He finished the NLCS hitless in his final 23 at-bats, striking out 11 times while completing more than 50% of throws from the zone.
The Brewers traded Mark Canha to the Tigers last week for minor league pitcher Blake Holub, but there was competition for the outfielder as sources say both the Royals and Athletics had discussed Canha before the deal with Milwaukee .
Kansas City liked Canha’s .355 on-base percentage and the quality of his hitting, as he ranked in the top 25% in the league in chase percentage, whiff percentage and strikeout rate. The Royals finished 13th in the AL with a .303 on-base percentage, so Kansas City will look to add at least one hitter with on-base skills to address that issue.
Breslow played for the Red Sox during Cherington’s tenure as general manager from 2012 to 2015, winning a World Series in 2013. The two were reunited with the Blue Jays in 2018, when Breslow played in the club’s system while Cherington worked in the front office.
“I think we all imagined that he would do something meaningful in the game after he stopped playing,” Cherington said. “For a long time I didn’t know what it would be; I don’t think he knew what that would be. I worked with him in Toronto and talked to him a lot in the year or two after he finished playing while he was thinking about what path he wanted to take. I talked to him about still being on the field in uniform and going down that path; He ultimately chose the baseball ops/front office/player development path and he did a really good job. I’m sure he’ll do well in Boston.”
Breslow was hired last month to run Boston’s baseball operations after working for the Cubs for five years. His experience in Chicago helped him understand the inner workings of a baseball department, while his time in Boston gave him a good understanding of the market.
“He has all the equipment you need [to succeed]Cherington said. “He is an experienced player, he is composed, he is exceptionally smart, he is curious, he is thoughtful, he has a good process. He now has experience putting together a program and process with the Cubs. He has a good team of people around him. These jobs are hard, but he has everything it takes to do it well.”