Philadelphia Phillies Officially Put Star Slugger on Trade Block

After some speculation that the Philadelphia Phillies could look to make some big moves, it seems like they have put one of their star sluggers on the trade block.

It feels almost unbelievable to think that the Philadelphia Phillies would arrive at this decision after an incredible, historic National League Division Series against their rival Atlanta Braves.

But, according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, they are officially putting one of their star sluggers on the trade block.

"According to a source, the Phillies are open to the idea of trading Nick Castellanos, whose streaky ways and disappointing performance in the NLCS could result in an offseason change," he writes.

This shouldn't surprise readers of Inside the Phillies.

It was previously predicted back in October that Philadelphia might be open to this move after another year of disappointing moments from Castellanos in important playoff series with the size of his current contract.

Overall, it would be unfair to point out how important the slugger was to the Phillies this regular season when the team was struggling.

He slashed .272/.311/.476 with 29 home runs and 106 RBI. He was also Philadelphia's lone representative at the All-Star Game in 2023.

Yet, the issues that have plagued Castellanos were present again in the NLCS.

"Castellanos’ free-swinging ways were an issue; he ranked in the bottom 2% of the league in chase percentage, the bottom 5% in whiff percentage and the bottom 12% in walk rate. He finished the NLCS hitless in his final 23 at-bats, striking out 11 times while chasing more than 50% of pitches out of the zone," Feinsand writes.

With the Phillies moving Bryce Harper to first base full-time, they would need to find a replacement in right field.

Teoscar Hernandez could be a target after he hit free agency. Philadelphia was previously linked to him before the trade deadline.

But, Hernandez also provides some of the same swing and miss issues that Castellanos has so that might be a lateral move.

Ideally, the Phillies would flip the 31-year-old for a top-level starting pitcher to add to their rotation and use the new-found money after offloading the slugger's contract to add another piece.

At the very least, it's smart for Philadelphia to dangle Castellanos to see what they can get in return for a solid hitter that other teams would like to have in their lineup.