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All-Star outfielder Nick Castellanos has agreed to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Castellanos will earn $100 million over five years with the Phillies.
Shortly after the Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros in the World Series to bring the 2021 MLB season to an end, Castellanos opted out of his contract with the Cincinnati Reds. In doing so, he left $34 million over two years on the table.
His decision came as little surprise.
Cincinnati appears to be heading toward a continued teardown. General manager Nick Krall offered a telling comment after trading veteran catcher Tucker Barnhart to the Detroit Tigers.
Lance McAlister @LanceMcAlister
Quote of note from <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Reds?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Reds</a> statement:<br>Krall: “Going into 2022, we must align our payroll to our resources and continue focusing on scouting and developing young talent from within our system.”
Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez have since been dealt as well, so the writing was on the wall.
Castellanos also enjoyed a career year at the plate; this was the time to cash out. If nothing else, he stood to collect the same amount of money he would have made with the Reds, albeit on a team with playoff ambitions.
In 138 games, the 29-year-old had 34 home runs, 100 RBI and a .309/.362/.576 slash line. Per FanGraphs, his .391 weighted on-base average was tied for sixth in MLB with teammate Joey Votto.
While a member of the Detroit Tigers, Castellanos vented his frustrations with the dimensions of Comerica Park, arguing they adversely impacted his production. The numbers back up his claims. After posting a .783 OPS with Detroit, he had a 1.002 OPS in his brief spell with the Chicago Cubs and a .893 OPS in Cincinnati, per Baseball Reference.
Some of his other advanced metrics are even more flattering.
Castellanos had an expected slugging percentage of .522 in 2021, the fifth time in the last six years he finished in the top 10 percent of the league in that category, according to Baseball Savant.
While 2021 was a bit of an outlier in terms of his offensive dominance, Castellanos has consistently been an above-average slugger. There’s little reason to think that won’t carry over to Philly.
His home and road splits do, however, raise questions as to whether some regression is in store for 2022.
Great American Ball Park is a hitter-friendly venue, and Castellanos certainly enjoyed playing in Southwest Ohio this past season. He had a 1.109 OPS and 23 home runs in 69 home games. Over the same number of games outside of Cincinnati, his OPS fell to a more pedestrian .772.
The Phillies won’t be expecting Castellanos to offer much value in the field, either. He has been worth minus-10.0 defensive WAR on Baseball Reference since entering the majors in 2013. Designated hitter might be his best position at this point, though in Philadelphia, he might be asked to handle left field.
But his offensive contributions far outweigh his defensive limitations, and his arrival will provide an immediate boost to Philly’s lineup.
Phillies star Bryce Harper made it clear he wanted the team to bring in outside reinforcements, and he spoke for a large section of the fanbase. A franchise doesn’t hire Dave Dombrowski and decide not to invest significantly in proven stars.
Since those comments, the Phillies have signed sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Castellanos.
Harper’s second Most Valuable Player nod was both a testament to his performance and his value to Philadelphia. By the end, it was basically him and Zack Wheeler trying to carry the Phillies to their first playoff trip since 2011.
Castellanos will provide some much needed support for Harper in the middle of the order. Add in Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, and the Phillies have one of the scarier lineups in all of baseball.
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