The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to move Nick Castellanos, but finding the right trade partner isn’t exactly easy.
Castellanos hasn’t performed well enough on either side of the ball lately to justify his spot on a contender like Philadelphia. That said, there are teams around the league who might be interested in what he used to be.
At his peak, Castellanos was one of the better right-handed hitters in baseball. Sure, he’s always had defensive issues, but teams were willing to live with them when his bat was producing.
While trading for him might not make much sense for most clubs, not everyone sees it that way. Henry Palattella of FanSided recently floated the Cleveland Guardians as a team that should at least kick the tires.
“On Monday, the Phillies inked outfielder Adolis García to a one-year, $10 million deal that all but confirms that Nick Castellanos’ time with the Phillies has come to an end. While the Phillies’ haven’t been shy about their intentions of wanting to trade Castellanos, bringing García into the fold means that there’s no room on the roster for Castellanos…
“The move also removes what little leverage the Phillies had when it comes to trade talks around Castellanos, meaning that he’ll be available for even more of a minimal cost, which should intrigue the Guardians.”
Here’s the thing though – Castellanos joining Cleveland would go against everything the Guardians have been doing lately.
The Guardians have built their offense around hitters who put the ball in play and create runs through contact. They value guys who can work counts and find ways to get on base.
Castellanos is more of a power-first hitter when he connects, and his game comes with plenty of swing-and-miss. That’s not really the Cleveland way.
