Just after they signed free agent outfielder Kyle Schwarber and re-signed outfielder Odubel Herrera earlier this week, the Philadelphia Phillies have come to terms with another big free agent outfielder: Nick Castellanos.
The Philadelphia Phillies have come to terms with Nick Castellanos
Jeff Passan of ESPN was the first to report late on Friday night that the Philadelphia Phillies and free agent outfielder Nick Castellanos had come to terms on a deal.
Outfielder Nick Castellanos and the Philadelphia Phillies are in agreement on a contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 19, 2022
Jon Heyman of MLB Network was the first to report that Castellanos’ contract will be for five years and $100 million.
Castellanos gets $100M for 5 years from Phils
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) March 19, 2022
Castellanos also seemed to confirm this on Instagram too, as he posted a picture of Philadelphia just after 11 PM E.T.
Entering the offseason, Castellanos was ranked as the #10 free agent on the market by MLB Trade Rumors and they predicted that he would get a five-year deal for $115 million, so Castellanos came shy of that on the amount but not the years.
Castellanos, 30, was an All-Star for the first time in 2021 for the Cincinnati Reds and, thus far, it was the best year of his career. He played in 138 games and he had 34 homers, 100 RBI, 38 doubles, a slash line of .309/.362/.576, and an OPS+ of 136. In addition to being an All-Star, he came in 12th in NL MVP voting, and he won a Silver Slugger Award.
Despite not being an All-Star before, Castellanos was no slouch in previous seasons.
From 2016 through 2019, he had an average of 144 games per season with 24 homers, 80 RBI, and an OPS+ of 121. His worst season in recent memory was 2020, when he still had an OPS+ of 100 in the pandemic shortened season.
Castellanos will join Schwarber, Herrera, and the reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper in a stacked outfield/DH scenario. Without the universal DH, the Phillies would have had to either not sign both Schwarber or Castellanos or move one of them to an infield position.
With the move, the Phillies will also exceed the luxury tax threshold unless they unload some of their payroll onto another team.