Castellanos Primed For Breakout Season After Inconsistent Start With Phillies
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Nick Castellanos had some uplifting moments offensively for the Philadelphia Phillies last season.
There just weren’t enough of them.
Certainly not enough to justify a $100 million contract.
In the postseason, Castellanos made a couple of scintillating plays defensively which added to the bizarre season. He has never been known as a stellar defensive player.
In any case, Castellanos will be eager to respond in a big way in 2023 and prove that he was worth every penny of his contract.
“I know last year was not a good year for Nick,” Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said in a recent interview on WIP. “He’s a much better hitter than that, and a much better player than that. So I think he’ll bounce back. He was one of the best hitters in baseball, really. He made the final three outfield spots for the All-Star (Game) in 2021. He’s a much better hitter than he showed last year. So I think he’ll bounce back.”
After producing 34 home runs and 100 runs with the Cincinnati Reds in 2021, Castellanos dipped to 13 homers and 62 RBI for the Phillies last season.
He never looked comfortable at the plate the entire season.
With Bryce Harper out until likely around the All-Star break, the Phillies will need Castellanos to improve tremendously this season. It doesn’t necessarily have to be added home runs, either. Just driving the ball into the gaps and knocking runs in will be more than sufficient.
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