Philadelphia Phillies Slugger Says Team Has 'Less Pressure' To Win This Year

Despite the thought that the Philadelphia Phillies have to win now-or-never, one of their sluggers doesn't feel that way.

Oct 8, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos (8) reacts in the eighth inning against the New York Mets during game three of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have a club house full of stars and big personalities.

Perhaps none more interesting than Nick Castellanos, though.

The slugger always gives an interesting quote, and after the long offseason where baseball was pushed onto the back burner in the media cycle, he was ready to provide the press and fans something to chew on as the team gets set for Spring Training.

"I don't know if we're going to go deep in October. I don't know any of that," he said per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. "I think we have a chance. We have a good team."

The prevailing thought surrounding the Phillies this winter was they needed to do whatever it took to make sure this roster was built to win a World Series after coming up painfully short in 2022 and regressing to earlier exits each of the last two years.

But that didn't happen.

Instead, Dave Dombrowski kept the group in tact as currently constructed, opting to let some of their high-priced bullpen arms walk in free agency while adding other players on short-term contracts to help bolster the margins.

It was an offseason that wasn't particularly popular amongst the fan base and analysts.

Because of that, Castellanos actually thinks Philadelphia has less pressure on them to win a championship this year based on that fact.

"I do think we have less pressure as a team this year, especially with everything the media said about us when we lost last year and we didn't really go out and make any crazy changes. So if we lose, you guys look smart, which is dope. Right? But then if we win, it's like a happy surprise. So it's kind of a freeing place to play baseball, know what I mean?" he stated.

It's an interesting sound bite, and one that was made in his patented candid fashion.

The reality is the Phillies are facing some pressure to win this season if they're going to hoist a trophy with this current group.

The roster is aging, and with Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto both set to become free agents after the year, there's a chance that some faces of the franchise during this run are suiting up for another team in 2026.

But what Castellanos said is also right.

Philadelphia is not being looked at in the same way as the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers or runner-up New York Yankees. They're also not being discussed as much as the New York Mets, who eliminated their archrivals in October and pulled off a monster winter of their own. Even the Chicago Cubs garnered more headlines this offseason.

It's an interesting place to be for the Phillies who have added star after star in previous free agencies.

There are certainly some in the clubhouse who are motivated to go out there and prove everyone wrong when it comes to how Philadelphia is being viewed.

But not Castellanos.

"I wouldn't say that 'we ended bad, we didn't win, so now I'm on a revenge tour to prove everybody wrong and give everybody the middle finger.' That's not really my personality ... I know that I personally have put in work to put myself in position to be ready to play and compete. I'm excited for the opportunity. That's the only thing I can control," he added.

Castellanos is a character.

And after the long offseason, he reminded everyone of that during the early part of camp.

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