The Philadelphia Phillies’ righthanded hitters have been a massive disappointment this season. Of their regular players who hit from the right side, Trea Turner has the highest OPS at .619. Adolis Garcia, signed to be the regular right fielder is batting .203 with four home runs. Despite that weak production, Nick Castellanos has done little to make the Phillies regret releasing him.
This shouldn’t be surprising because in aggregate, Castellanos was one of the worst players in baseball during his four
years with the team. There would be periods when he looked like the middle of the order bat the Phillies thought they were signing, and he deservedly made the All-Star team in 2023. But those periods were too brief and separated by long stretches when he seemed to do nothing but swing futilely at low and away breaking pitches.
There has been plenty written about Castellanos since his release. My impression is that he isn’t an outright bad person or teammate, but he was a diva and me-first guy. He didn’t respect the manager or hitting coach – partly because they didn’t play in the major leagues – and wasn’t especially receptive to coaching. Perhaps most importantly, he wanted to be afforded star treatment by management despite a distinct lack of star results on the field.
Thanks in part to Castellanos’ Instagram manifesto, there’s been a narrative that the Phillies “got rid of him for drinking a beer.” I’m sure that was his intention. But it’s clear that he wasn’t just trying to enjoy a cold one after a stressful experience, but rather attempting to blatantly break the rules – and yes, this is an MLB rule – to show how mad he was at the manager who had the audacity to pull him – one of the worst defensive players in the game – for a defensive replacement.
It’s interesting that nowhere in Castellanos’ written letter did he mention that he would still be on the team had his play even come close to matching expectations from when he signed. I was never crazy about the signing in the first place because it seemed like an impulse buy, but the Phillies thought they were getting a hitter who would be a great complement to their lefthanded sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.
Instead, according to WAR, he was one of the least valuable players in baseball two of his four years with the Phillies. In fairness, much of that negative value came on defense, and when he was signed, I believe the expectation was that he’d spend a decent amount of time at designated hitter. But his offensive numbers weren’t all that great either. Over the four years, his OPS+ was an even 100 which represents an average hitter, which is definitely not what the Phillies thought they were getting after a career best season in 2021.
And that’s ultimately the reason he is now an ex-Phillie: His production on the field wasn’t nearly enough to compensate for how much of a pain he apparently was off it. If you’re going to act like a diva, then you’d better play like a star. And you need to be self-aware enough to realize that you’re not playing like a star.
Maybe he’s happier in San Diego, but his play on the field hasn’t reflected that. He’s batting just .190 with four home runs, although his play has improved since injuries have forced the Padres into making him their everyday right fielder. He’s even delivered a few clutch moments along the way.
Of course, delivering the occasional clutch hit was never Castellanos’ problem. It was the long stretches in between those clutch moments that was the problem.
Being who he is, it feels like a given that Castellanos will hit at least one home run this season. It will be extremely interesting to see how he reacts and what he says after the game when that happens.
Pennant year song battle
This feature doesn’t seem to be all that popular, so this may be the last one. But for now, It’s a Mistake by Men at Work continues to hold the crown, getting past Flo Rida’s Right Round.
In honor of Memorial Day, this week’s song comes from 1915: I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier by Morton Harvey.
Vote for the winner:
Additional thought about the series
I’m somewhat confused how the Padres are doing so well. They’re 31-21 despite underperformances from star players Manny Machado (.608 OPS) and Fernando Tatis (.615 OPS).
The Padres have the lowest team batting average in baseball, are next to last in on-base percentage, and third from last in slugging percentage. You’d think that meant they were carried by their pitching staff, but the team ERA is a good, but not amazing .386.
They’re outplaying their Pythagorean record by four games, and that makes sense once you see how good the backend of their bullpen has been. Closer Mason Miller has been almost untouchable this season, going 16-16 in save opportunities. Not only has he not blown a save, but he also hasn’t allowed a run in his save opportunities.
Setup man Jason Adam has been almost as good, with a .102 ERA in 19 games. And the rest of their bullpen with guys like Bradgley Rodriguez and Wandy Peralta has been solid as well.
Basically, the key to beating the Padres is to score early. Because if you are trailing heading into the late innings, you’re probably not going to be making a comeback.
