The Philadelphia Phillies have plenty of decisions to make this offseason. It starts at the top of their roster with DH Kyle Schwarber and starter Ranger Suarez. Those are the two marquee free agents on the Phillies that the front office will have to decide on.
However, outfielder Nick Castellanos is also a big decision as he enters the final year of his five-year, $100 million contract. Castellanos was an All-Star in 2023, which may justify the contract a little bit, but he has been an average to below-average player since. His bWAR was -1.0 in 2025.
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Should the Phillies trade Nick Castellanos?
Towards the end of the 2025 season, there were rumblings of frustration between the Phillies and Nick Castellanos, and the idea of him being traded in the offseason started to gain traction. The Phillies could use better outfield defense and a more productive bat, and Castellanos's speed and hit tool have diminished in recent years.
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MLBTradeRumors.com's Steve Adams recently released a big board of the top potential trade candidates this offseason, and Nick Castellanos is on the list:
"With the end of the deal now in sight, the Phillies are expected to release or trade Castellanos this winter. If they’re going to trade him, they’ll need to eat almost the entirety of what’s left on the contract. A team hoping to catch lightning in a bottle might pay $3-5MM for Castellanos’ age-34 season, but it’s hard to envision anyone absorbing much more of the deal than that (unless they’re sending a bad contract back Philadelphia’s way)."
In 147 games this season, primarily out in right field, Castellanos posted an 88 OPS+ and hit just 17 home runs over 547 at-bats.
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