Phillies plan to cut ties with $20 million former All Star

Billy Heyen

Phillies plan to cut ties with $20 million former All Star image

The Philadelphia Phillies are heading into next season with a roster not that different from last season.

But there's one guy they're still planning to get rid of before the new season arrives: Nick Castellanos.

MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reported this on X on Tuesday:

"No change, but the Phillies still plan to part ways with Nick Castellanos before spring training. They're trying to find somebody to pay even a small piece of his $20 million salary."

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Castellanos will turn 34 years old in March.

He's coming off a season in which he batted.250 with 17 home runs.

He had a negative-0.8 Wins Above Replacement stat for the 2025 season.

Castellanos is a clear liability in right field, and if he's only a DH at this point, his.694 OPS in 2025 won't get the job done, either.

He was a slugger for the Detroit Tigers, then made stops with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds, before coming to Philadelphia.

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Initially with the Phillies, Castellanos' bat was enough to make up for his other deficiencies.

But now he strikes out plenty, doesn't walk much, and is a terrible defensive player.

Maybe he can still tap into his power in a new place, but it makes sense why the Phillies would like to move on.

It's just a big salary for a player with not a ton of usefulness at this point in his career, so it's not clear how this might end yet.

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Editorial Team