The Good Phight will be previewing the 2026 season by going over each position on the field. We’ll talk about the players that will occupy them, the players behind them, their strengths and weaknesses and give a few takes about how we think the season will shake out.
The bar is low for Adolis García. Nick Castellanos played in 143 games last year as the Phillies primary right fielder for most of the season. He was one of the worst players in Major League Baseball. He brought a beer into the clubhouse
and didn’t like Rob Thomson.
Once the Phillies made the trade for Harrison Bader to play center field, Nick Castellanos began to lose playing time, eventually leading to Max Kepler becoming Thomson’s primary option against right handed pitchers. Over the final month of the season, Kepler played right field in 13 of the 17 games he played. He was the game one starter out there in the NLDS but moved back to left when Bader got hurt.
Overall, the Phillies right field output was 21st in fWAR and 15th in wRC+, mostly because of what Max Kepler did over the final two months of the season.
After a 39 home run campaign that helped the Texas Rangers win a title in 2023, García’s production has plummeted in his early 30s. His slugging from 2023 to 2024 dropped 108 points and dropped an additional six in 2025. He rebounded defensively last season but he was still a below-average player at the plate.
The inspiring takeaway from García is that he still has the raw physical talent for a potential rebound. While his bat speed has declined, his average exit velocity was still north of 92 mph last season with a plus hard hit rate. In spring training, García’s hard hit metrics still show a player who can hit the ball very hard.
The approach at the plate is a different question, however. He may be a vastly different defensive outfielder than Nick Castellanos but they’re quite similar at the plate. The general profile of both hitters looks very similar.
García:
.304 xwOBA
.232 xBA
.427 xSLG
Chase% 35.8
Whiff% 30.3
K% 24.7
BB% 5.1
Pull Air% 17.9
GB% 36.9
Castellanos:
.302 xwOBA
.242 xBA
.408 xSLG
Chase% 40.9
Whiff% 29.9
K% 22.6
BB% 5.4
Pull Air% 18.3
GB% 38.8
The similarities don’t stop there, García hit just .247 on four-seam fastballs last season. Castellanos? .246.
Against breaking pitches, Castellanos hit .220 with a .392 slugging. García? .212 with a .390 slugging.
If Adolis García ends up being a slightly better version of Castellanos at the plate by demonstrating more raw power while giving the Phillies at least slightly above-average defense, that’s a better player than the right field situation the club had last season. That’s what the Phillies are asking him to do.
But even in that world, is it enough of an upgrade? It’s a hard question to answer. That still might be the first place the team looks for help at the trade deadline in August.
There is also the path for a collapse in production. García is now 33 years old and has a game predicated on raw athleticism to make up for approach issues. It’s very easy to imagine a major decrease in bat speed, which leads to issues against fastballs. If he loses a bit of speed, he might go from an above-average outfielder defensively to someone below. Sapped raw power would lead to less extra base hits.
How easy is it to imagine that happening for a 33-year-old right fielder? It happened to the Phillies last year with Nick Castellanos.
