SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Phillies have had great success over the past two seasons, reaching the World Series in 2022 and the NL Championship Series last October.
But as Philadelphia embarks on its offseason plans with the goal of being the last team standing in 2024, it appears a key cog in its roster could be in motion.
Source says Phillies are open to trade Nicolas Castellanoswhose streak and disappointing performance in the NLCS could lead to an offseason change.
Jorge Soler and Teoscar Hernández are among the right field options on the free agent market, so the Phillies could use the $20 million per year owed to 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 the plan is for Bryce Harper to stay at first base full timethe Phillies could also pivot by moving him back to right field and signing free agent first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who missed the entire 2023 season after suffering a torn ACL in spring training.
Castellanos’ numbers for the entire 2023 season have been solid, as he has hit 29 home runs with 106 RBIs and a .788 OPS in 157 games. He posted solid numbers in April (.878 OPS), June (.954 OPS) and August (.860 OPS), but he fell off in May (.695 OPS) and July (.497 OPS), then had a .570 OPS. from August 13 to September 8, prompting manager Rob Thomson to move him back to eighth on the roster, hitting him no higher than sixth for the remainder of the regular season.
Castellanos’ free manners 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 chasing more than 50 percent of pitches out of the zone.
THE Brewers traded Mark Canha to Tigers last week for Minor League pitcher Blake Holub, but there was competition for the outfielder as sources say the Royals and Athletics were in talks with Milwaukee for Canha before the deal.
Kansas City liked Canha’s .355 on-base percentage and quality of his at-bats, as he ranked in the top 25% in the league in chase percentage, whiff percentage, and rate of strikeouts. The Royals ranked 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 help remedy that problem.
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 in 2018 with the Blue Jays, as Breslow pitched in the club system while Cherington worked in the front office.
“I think we all imagined he would do something significant in the game after he stopped playing,” Cherington said. “For a long time, I didn’t know what it would be like; I don’t think he knew what it would be like. I had the opportunity to work with him in Toronto, I talked to him a lot a year or two after he finished playing, when he was thinking about the path he wanted to take. I talked to him about being on the field always in uniform and following that path; Ultimately, he chose the baseball operations/front office/player development route and he did very well. I’m sure he’ll do well in Boston.
Breslow was hired to run Boston’s baseball operations last month after working for the Cubs for five years. His experience in Chicago helped him understand the inner workings of a baseball operations department, while his time in Boston gives him a good understanding of the market.
“It has all the equipment you need (to be successful),” Cherington said. “He’s experienced as a player, he’s composed, he’s exceptionally bright, he’s curious, he’s thoughtful, he’s got a good process. He now has experience putting together a program, a process with the Cubs. He has a good team around him. These tasks are difficult, but he has what it takes to do well.
