Phillies could use Rodolfo Castro’s big bat so far in opening series against Braves

When the Philadelphia Phillies were set to start the 2024 MLB season against the offensive juggernauts in the Atlanta Braves, there was just a good feeling that the series would turn into a slugfest. With the potent bats found throughout the Phillies and Braves’ lineups, there would be only so much their ace starters could do to hold them back.

Well, that has certainly come to fruition after the first two games of the series. However, it has been the Braves that have been doing most of the damage outscoring the Phillies by a 21-7 margin so far. If the Phillies really needed a power bat to inject in the lineup to get more on even terms with their arch rivals, maybe they should have considered having Rodolfo Castro on the roster to start the season.

After all, this is what he did with the Phillies Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Friday.

Castro was the catalyst in helping the IronPigs come all the way back from down 4-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning to win 7-4 over the Worcester Red Sox with his walk-off grand slam. That kind of big-time offense certainly would have come in handy for the Phillies-Braves series thus far.

After acquiring Castro from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Trade Deadline last season, he failed to impress the Phillies brass with his limited play down the stretch in 2023, as well as in his audition this spring training despite hitting better with a .267 average with four runs scored and three RBI in 15 preseason games. Perhaps his heroics from Friday is a first step in the right direction for Castro in his quest to regain his spot on the Phillies’ major league roster in the near future.

And with that kind of power, maybe the Phillies shouldn’t wait any longer, as they can probably use him right about … now.