Nick Castellanos, Phillies agree to a deal
The Phillies are doing it. They are going over the luxury tax and assembling one of the most dangerous lineups in the National League.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Phillies have an agreement with outfielder Nick Castellanos. Jon Heyman reports that the deal is for five years, $100 million.
Castellanos, 30, is a nine-year major league veteran who previously played for the Tigers, Cubs, and Reds. He posted his best season to date in 2021, where he slashed .309/.362/.576 with 34 home runs and 100 RBIs and made his first All-Star team. Castellanos ranks 19th in slugging percentage among qualified hitters since 2018.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski drafted Castellanos during his tenure as Tigers president. That prior connection, as well as Harper’s recruiting efforts, likely played a sizable role in Castellanos’ decision to sign with Philadelphia.
Following an impressive 2021 campaign, Castellanos opted out of his four-year, $64 million deal with the Reds. He’ll join a stacked Phillies offense that already has Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber. Jean Seugura, who was primarily featured in the No. 2 spot in 2021, should benefit greatly from moving down in the order. While it will help a lot, the Phillies also don’t have to heavily rely on bounce backs from both Didi Gregorius and Alec Bohm.
In other words, the impact of adding two elite hitters in Schwarber and Castellanos will be felt all throughout the lineup.
Castellanos had the news first.
Late Friday night, Castellanos, a guy who is apparently not a fan of social media, the internet, or technology in general, posted this cryptic photo of the Center City skyline view from the Art Museum steps on Instagram.
Phillies Nation estimates that the Phillies are approximately $6.4 million over the first luxury tax threshold following the Castellanos signing.
We’ll have more on this story as more details become available.
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