The Philadelphia Phillies could look a lot different in 2026, regardless of what president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said during his year-end press conference. The team needs a change to get over the hump and return to the World Series.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson will return next season, but his lineup and roster may not be the same. The Phillies have notable free agents, highlighted by Kyle Schwarber, and could look to make trades this offseason.
Nick Castellanos hires agent amid rumored departure from Phillies
The Phillies’ outfield is the biggest question mark heading into 2026. It was a weakness for the majority of this past season, but it turned into a strength down the stretch.
Although the outfield played well to end the season, there’s a lot of uncertainty moving forward. Max Kepler is a free agent, Harrison Bader has a $10 million mutual option and could opt for free agency, Brandon Marsh’s name has been floated in trade rumors and it was reported that Nick Castellanos’ time with the team has all but come to an end.
Castellanos has begun to prep for his likely departure from the Phillies this offseason. The veteran outfielder hired Mato Sports Management to represent him, per Jon Heyman, after previously representing himself.
Nick Castellanos has hired Mato Sports Management to represent him
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 23, 2025
The Phillies signed Castellanos to a five-year, $100 million contract in 2022 with hopes of him being the final piece to a World Series team. He was coming off an All-Star season with the Cincinnati Reds in which he hit a career-best .309 with a career-high 34 home runs.
Castellanos didn’t live up to expectations in his first year with the Phillies, but he was named to the All-Star Game in 2023. Unfortunately, he had proved to be a streaky hitter during his four years with the team and could never live up to his $20 million salary.
It wasn’t quite the ending of Castellanos’ time with the Phillies that he or the organization had hoped for. After being one of the best and most consistent hitters in the lineup in 2025, owning a .282 batting average through June, Castellanos hit .206 across the final three months of the regular season.
Not only did Castellanos struggle mightily to end the year, but he also fell into a platoon role in right field and created one too many negative headlines. The 33-year-old was benched for a game earlier in the season for an inappropriate comment toward Thomson (subscription required), per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, and publicly shared a few months later that the two haven’t had the best relationship over the years.
Castellanos remains under contract with the Phillies, but everything is falling into place to make a trade or release a likely outcome this offseason.