Any good trade fits left for Phillies and Nick Castellanos?

There aren’t many seats left at the dance for Nick Castellanos, who is increasingly likely to be released or traded for a meager return before spring training takes shape for the Phillies.

President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski reiterated to reporters Monday that the team is focused on a change of scenery for Castellanos. The trade partner is not obvious but it’s crystal clear that Castellanos is no longer in the Phillies’ plans even though right-handed offense is still a need.

That has to be the team’s biggest frustration in all of this — Castellanos, if he was still just 80% of the player the Phillies thought they were signing four years ago, would be an ideal fit for this lineup. The Phillies don’t have a clear answer in the cleanup spot behind their three best hitters, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. The right-handed protection for either lefty is crucial and that’s where Castellanos could have been so much more impactful during chunks of his time as a Phillie.

In 2026, the likeliest candidates to hit cleanup are Alec Bohm and Adolis Garcia, probably in that order because Bohm makes more contact and has historically been solid with runners in scoring position.

The return in a Castellanos trade

You wonder if the return for Castellanos is even as important to the front office at this point as it is to find a resolution. Why prolong a lingering distraction with the full squad reporting to spring training by Monday?

In a perfect world, the Phils would flip Castellanos for either a player another team has soured on who has a chance to contribute here, or very modest relief on his $20 million salary. If they can save a couple million dollars or receive a bit piece or lottery ticket in return, anything is better than nothing. That deal hasn’t yet materialized, and the whole league sees the position the Phillies are in.

A minor caveat to that is another team could suffer an injury in spring training that makes Castellanos more appealing — if there’s an appetite on the Phils’ end to wait it out. Having observed him for four years, Castellanos has to be antsy to get started, whether it’s at a spring training complex in Florida or Arizona.

Castellanos trade fits

The Pirates looked like a potential fit but signed Marcell Ozuna on Monday. Maybe Castellanos’ hometown Marlins. The Braves, who did nothing offensively this offseason, could use him as a platoon piece with Mike Yastrzemski. The Padres have been linked to right-handed offense. At least four teams in the AL Central could make some degree of sense.

Plenty of clubs would be interested in taking a flier on Castellanos for the league minimum if the Phillies cut ties. Why not? At the very least, his next team would be signing a platoon outfielder or DH who can get hot at the plate despite his flaws. You can go through most of the league and make a case for him as a fit, so long as there's an understanding between player and his team about role and expectations. A release would obviously be the most advantageous situation for Castellanos because he could pick the team offering the most playing time.

Castellanos was drafted 44th overall in 2010 by a Detroit Tigers front office led by Dombrowski. The two have been together for nine of Castellanos' 16 seasons as a pro, minors and majors. At many times in Philadelphia they've communicated openly and directly. There's a clear appetite for both sides to get this done, it's simply a matter of how soon and how much, if anything, the Phillies can find in a trade.