Phillies have contacted Nick Castellanos, per report

Even with the Phillies missing out on several of the big ticket free agents that were in the market, there are still lots of fish in the sea that they can try and hook for themselves. According to one report, they have at least discussed one of the bigger outfielders out there.

Mentioning the Dombrowski connection feels like a cheap ploy to draw the team into the market, but taking it at face value, the connections does appear to make some sense. The team needs a left fielder and Castellanos....well he has an outfielder’s glove!

They would not be signing Castellanos for his glove though. For a team that needs some thunder in their lineup, adding him would give them that needed offensive production. In a big platform season, Castellanos hit .309/.362/.576 with Cincinnati, pounding out 34 home runs and 100 RBI for the Reds. He actually improved his strikeout rate (20.7%) while also showing that he can take a walk when needed, his 7.0 BB% rate percentage points above his career average. He could fit right into the Phillies lineup and at least hold down the fort, on paper, in left field until MLB decides what they are doing about the DH in the National League.

There is a minor snafu in the negotiations, though.

Giving Castellanos a seven- or eight-year deal is a little silly right now unless they know something about the DH coming. We have all speculated that it is likely it happens in 2022, but until it actually comes about, that many years would probably be a bit too much for team’s liking.

At least the team is being mentioned in rumors now!