Phillies Could Look To Move On From Fan Favorite Outfielder at Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies are headed into the trade deadline as a team with the potential to do a lot of different things in terms of possible changes and upgrades.

Taking the lead in the National League East and looking once again like a surefire playoff team, the Phillies are going to have to shake some things up in order to get over the World Series hump they have been unable to reach with this group the last three years.

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For one reason or another, they have fallen short at various stages of the playoffs, and this could be the deadline where some major changes are made.

While bullpen upgrades are an obvious necessity and something Philadelphia's brass has been fairly open about when it comes to their search, perhaps there could be a different significant change on the horizon to both the lineup and defensive alignment.

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During a recent survey of executives around the league, Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) wrote about the possibility that the Phillies could look to part ways with fan favorite right fielder Nick Castellanos.

"The Castellanos rumors just never go away, and for that reason alone, multiple GMs think there’s a chance he could get moved if Philadelphia can find a better right-field option," Bowden wrote. "He’s a well-below-average outfielder and is signed through 2026 at $20 million per year, so Philadelphia would have to pay down his contract to move him."

While replacing Castellanos could be the change they need in order to get it done in the playoffs, reality is likely not going to see a serious upgrade being sent over in return.

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As Bowden mentioned, the 33-year-old is still signed through next season for $20 million, a number that just does not match his production anymore.

Castellanos is slashing a good not great .275/.318/.445 with 11 home runs and 49 RBI while still providing subpar defense in right.

Unless Dave Dombrowski would be willing to take on a huge chunk of the remaining money just to replace him, it's going to be tough to get legitimate value in a return that makes the team better.

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It's understandable why many want the Phillies to move on from the longtime slugger and change things up headed into the playoffs, however, the contract is just going to make it tough to actually happen.

In all likelihood, Philadelphia will hold onto Castellanos. But where there is smoke there’s fire, and it certainly is not a shock to hear they might try to move on from him.

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