November 09, 2023
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTEMBER 13: A photo from the Philadelphia Phillies game against the Atlanta Braves on September 13, 2023 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. (Photo by Kate Frese/PhillyVoice)
The Phillies are restructuring. Well, sort of.
News broke Wednesday that Bryce Harper will be playing first base full time — essentially ending the Philadelphia career of free agent Rhys Hoskins.
Which means that, on paper, the Phillies are basically stuck with the exact same starting nine as they had in their postseason run:
| Position | Player |
| Catcher | J.T. Realmuto |
| First base | Bryce Harper |
| Second base | Bryson Stott |
| Shortstop | Trea Turner |
| Third base | Alec Bohm |
| Right field | Nick Castellanos |
| Center field | Johan Rojas |
| Left field | Brandon Marsh |
| Designated hitter | Kyle Schwarber |
Where can the Phillies improve? Johan Rojas barely hit in the playoffs, and it's been made clear that he'll need to earn that spot next season. So there could be room for some kind of veteran outfielder to challenge him or Brandon Marsh for a starting spot.
But according to a report from MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, it could be Castellanos' roster spot that gets tinkered with:
"...as Philadelphia embarks on its offseason plans in an effort to be the last team standing in 2024, it appears a key cog in its lineup could be on the move.
"According to a source, the Phillies are open to the idea of trading Nick Castellanos, whose streaky ways and disappointing performance in the NLCS could result in an offseason change.
"Jorge Soler and Teoscar Hernández are among the right-field options on the free-agent market, so the Phillies could take the $20 million per year owed to Castellanos over the next three seasons to sign his replacement. Other players such as 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 remain at first base full-time, the Phillies could also pivot by moving him back to right field and re-signing free-agent first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who missed the entire 2023 season after suffering a torn ACL during Spring Training." [MLB.com]
It's arguable that Castellanos' drop off in production cost the Phillies a World Series berth. He was a home run machine early on, but went 0-for-23 to end the playoffs and was swinging at everything.
He has three years and $60 million left on a deal he signed before the 2022 season, and doesn't really scream to be a valued trade chip, but there could be a contender willing to swap strength for strength — possibly a starting pitcher or something.
As a Phillie, Castellanos has 42 homers and 168 RBI — he's been a run producer. He's also hit .268 over 1,150 at bats. He also has 315 strikeouts in two seasons. There is an addition by subtraction argument to be made, and it seems as though Castellanos is the most expendable of the Phils talented veteran hitters.
The hot stove is just warming up. We'll see if there's any smoke to this rumor as the Winter Meetings and offseason continues.
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