Phillies Outfield Due for One Last Shakeup This Offseason

The Philadelphia Phillies have one more big move up their sleeve this offseason to complete their outfield, at least according to MLB.com's Paul Casella.

As Casella was explaining Aroldis Garcia's likely role as the Phillies' starting right fielder, he dropped another hint that Nick Castellanos and his $20 million expiring contract will likely be traded before spring training.

"Signed to a one-year, $10 million deal, García is expected to take over in right field for Castellanos, who is expected to be moved before the season. Similar to the Kepler signing a year ago, the Phillies are hoping García can bounce back from a down year offensively -- though this is different in a couple of ways," Casella wrote.

"For one, García still provided some pop, hitting 19 homers in 135 games for the Rangers. He’s averaged 28 homers and 91 RBIs in his five big league seasons. Secondly, his defense in right field -- particularly his strong arm -- should be a marked improvement over Castellanos."

Nick Castellanos Trade Easier Said Than Done for Phillies

The Phillies Show's Todd Zolecki revealed that the market for Castellanos hasn't exactly been robust of late, ultimately predicting a trade would happen late in the offseason.

"I've been trying to check around seeing if anyone was interested in Nick Castellanos. I couldn't find anybody, I've heard people say, 'I'm not interested at any price in Nick Castellanos.' They mention the defense is a big reason why," Zolecki said in December.

"Another person I talked to said if Nick is traded at all, it'll happen much later in the offseason, when every other option falls off the board, maybe the last team standing that still needs a right-handed bat might want to make a trade with the Phillies."

It's not ideal to have a contract sitting on the books like Castellanos, with no clear role for him, with Brandon Marsh, Johan Rojas, and Justin Crawford set to hold things down in the outfield and the bullpen hurting for arms.

Philadelphia may be looking at eating some of Castellanos' contract in a deal with a team that was both smart enough not to blow assets on a trade earlier in the offseason, but not smart enough to rely on a player whose best years are behind him if the 2025 season (.694 OPS, 294 on-base percentage, 17 home runs in 147 games) is any indication of a decline.