The situation the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves in with Nick Castellanos is incredibly awkward. It's also entirely predictable. With the deadline to remove the beleaguered right fielder from the roster fast approaching, the Phillies' front office is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The Phillies are still trying to trade Castellanos, as they have been since the beginning of the offseason when they made it known he wouldn't be part of their plans for 2026 (subscription required). Time is running out, however. Position players who aren't participating in the World Baseball Classic are due to report to training camp by Feb. 16, next Monday.
Dealing Castellanos, who turns 34 early in March, has been about as difficult as we had all imagined it would be. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed to media on Monday that he's indeed still talking to other teams about trading Castellanos, per The Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber.
Dombrowski definitively set Monday as the deadline (subscription required), according to Lauber.
“We’re doing everything we can to make a move by (Monday),” Dombrowski said, per Lauber. “I’ll leave it at that right now.”
Phillies may be forced to release Nick Castellanos after backing themselves into a corner with zero trade leverage
Castellanos has one year left on his five-year, $100 million contract and is owed $20 million in 2026. Unsurprisingly, the Phillies haven't had any takers for an aging player with that price tag who has had public run-ins with his manager and was rated as one of the worst defensive outfielders last season.
Even if they manage to wriggle themselves into a trade, it's presumed that the Phillies will have to eat a large portion of Castellanos' salary. Estimates have ranged from $15 million to $18 million.
The other option is easier but guaranteed to be more costly. If Dombrowski can't find a trade partner by Monday's deadline, he will be forced to release Castellanos. In that case, the team will be on the hook for the full $20 million and the veteran will be free to sign anywhere.
Unfortunately, the Phillies have painted themselves into a corner in this situation. Any team that Dombrowski is speaking to knows that the Phillies have only a handful of days remaining before their self-imposed deadline. It's impossible to get any kind of leverage in that position.
Rival general managers know that if they wait until Monday, Castellanos will be on the market and won't cost them any assets. That's assuming that a team is willing to take a chance on him.
Castellanos has had an up-and-down four seasons in red pinstripes. He hit .250 with a .694 OPS and 17 home runs last season and his -0.6 fWAR ranked last among qualified position players.
He also had a strained relationship with manager Rob Thomson during his final season in Philly. Seemingly entirely of Castellanos' own making, the tension became public following a June benching after the outfielder "crossed a line" with his skipper after being pulled for defensive reasons. He followed that up in September by publicly criticizing Thomson's communication style.
Whatever happens with Castellanos, wherever he ends up this season, we know it won't be in Philadelphia. It only remains to be seen how the Phillies extricate themselves from this awkward impasse. The clock is ticking and their leverage and options are shrinking by the day.