Phillies in a “serious” pursuit of Nick Castellanos

10:30 am: Morosi Tweets The two sides are already making progress on the contract. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia Tweets That Velez is already “on” Castellanos. As Salisbury points out, owner John Middleton has said in the past that he would bypass the luxury tax for “the right opportunity.”

MLB Network’s John Hyman tweeted that Marlins And the reds You remain involved, although it’s almost impossible to imagine Cincinnati’s re-signing to Castellanos after aggressively dumping payroll to this point. Meanwhile, Barry Jackson from the Miami Herald again Reports That as much as Marlins have like Castellanos, Miami has no intention of signing a contract with Castellanos for five years or more and $100 million or more.

9:45 am: One day after the agreement For a four-year deal With Kyle SchwarberThe Phyllis are in a “serious” pursuit of a fellow bazaar Nick CastellanosAnd the Reports Sportsman Jason Stark. John Morosi of MLB.com chirp Last night that Phils still had some interest in Castellanos even after Schwarber was added. The signing will also certainly push Philadelphia over the $230 million luxury tax threshold. Castellanos is represented by Porras Corporation.

Castellanos, 30, became a free agent in November after he exercised the opt-out clause and has walked away for the last two years and remains $34 million in a four-year, $64 million contract with the Reds. The decision was highly anticipated, given the strength of its Cincinnati production. The Reds made a qualifying bid for Castellanos, which he naturally declined, meaning it would cost the Phillies their second-highest pick and $500,000 in their international bonus pool. In the meantime, the Reds will get a compensatory option after the first round of the 2022 draft, assuming Castellanos signs more than $50 million in guaranteed money (which sounds like a certain). In the small chance that he signed for less than that amount, Cincinnati’s corporate pick will be pushed back by about 40 picks (after the competitive balance round B).

Castellanos added to a lineup that already includes Schwarber, the NL MVP . referee Bryce Harperall star catcher JT Realmotoslugger Reese Hoskins And the product steadily Jan Segura It would give the Velez the possibility of forming a dominant team – especially if the young talents like it Alec Boom And the highest probability Bryson Stott They can establish themselves as major contributors to the league. As a team, the 2021 Phillies were a middle group group, ranking 13th in major scoring races (706), 15th in home runs (198), 18th in hitting average (.240), and 13th in home runs (.240). one day. – Base ratio (.318), 14 in hysteresis (.408) and tied for 18th in WRC+ (93).

Castellanos, who was supposed to split time with Schwarber between the left court and his newly designated National League hitting hole, wrapped up the best season of his big football career. In 585 games for the Reds, he has converted his .309/ .362/ .576 hitting streak to a career high 34 times. It doesn’t offer a huge walking rate, but the Castellanos cruise at a below average rate and are a consistent source of high hit rates and slow percentages.

A longtime established and productive hitter with his original organization, the Tigers, Castellanos took his game to new heights when trading Cubs in 2019. Since that trade, he has amassed an exceptional .292/.346/.571 hitting streak with 64 home runs and 70 Doubles and three times in 1052 games between Chicago and Cincinnati. That output is 34% better than the league average, measured by WRC+, and a little of it looks frustrating. Castellanos consistently records hit rates north of 40% and barrel rates north of 10% which, combined with his above-average bat-to-ball skills, lead Statcast to rank him among the game leaders in expected average hits and projected slowdown year-over-year .

More is coming.