The situation between Nick Castellanos and the Philadelphia Phillies had reached an untenable situation last year, and it’s probably better for both sides that they are moving on from him.
Through most of last season, the Phillies were in search of a trade partner for Castellanos but were unable to offload the back end of his hefty contract. They’ll now be stuck holding the bill on the final $20 million that he was owed this season.
It made sense for Philly to move off his contract. Castellanos has been the worst defender in baseball over the last few years and has not provided enough at the plate to justify ever DHing him. The Phillies are slowly watching their window for contention close, and they need to be playing the best possible lineup every night.
Besides his play on the field, reports have come out today that he was a liability in the clubhouse as well. From drinking beer in the middle of a game to fighting with coaches, both sides needed to move on.
Castellanos might not have a spot in Philly, but could he find renewed life as a platoon bat? This past season, Castellanos had somewhat even splits against left and right-handed pitching, but over his career, he’s dominated lefties.
With the Tigers adding Framber Valdez to their rotation, teams in the AL Central will be seeing a whole lot of dominant left-handers each night. Both the Royals and Guardians seem like they could be perfect fits for Castellanos if he’s willing to take a role as a platoon hitter.
More specifically, the Guardians could really use any sort of right-handed hitting in their lineup. Cleveland is always one of the cheapest teams in baseball, but their payroll going into this season is $7 million less than that of any other team in baseball. Heck, they have a payroll nearly $25 million below the Pirates. They should be more than capable of adding a guy like Castellanos, even if he still wants over $10 million.
Cleveland will work with three right-handed options in the outfield during spring training: Angel Martinez, Jonathan Rodriguez, and the newly signed Stuart Fairchild. I’m sure Cleveland isn’t particularly sold on any of those options, so a veteran presence like Castellanos could help what was one of the worst offenses in baseball last season.
It’ll be interesting to see whether or not a serious contender will take a risk on Castellanos before spring training gets underway. I think with his long tenured track record of crushing lefties, I’d still be willing to see if he has one more solid season left in the tank.
