Phillies mailbag pt. 1: Castellanos, Harper, Bader, third base and ‘running it back’
Here’s part 1 of Phillies Nation’s offseason mailbag. Thank you for submitting your Phillies offseason questions and concerns through our social media channels.
This is a genuine question. At what point is the team not “running it back”? What is considered significant enough change? Still looking forward to the season, but feeling less enthusiastic in general. – Cat Murph on Facebook.
It depends on who you ask. Signing Bo Bichette, parting ways with J.T. Realmuto and one of either Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott would have been enough of a lineup shakeup to appease the fans looking for change. The “running it back” conversation mostly revolves around the top six or seven hitters in the lineup. But the Phillies argue that turning over a quarter of the roster constitutes as significant enough change. Much of that change is coming in the bullpen, but just about every team goes into the year with a different group of relievers than the one they had in the previous year. The reality is that these long-term commitments for players like Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and others will inevitably lead to the roster feeling the same year after year.
The Phillies, I think, could do a better job at spinning their commitment to getting rid of Nick Castellanos as a big change. Since 2022, only Schwarber has taken more plate appearances for the Phillies than Castellanos. His replacement Adolis Garcia carries a similar offensive profile, but not having Castellanos in the lineup everyday counts as a sizable shift.
I cant understand why Edmundo isn’t a solid option as starting 3B if they had wanted to deal Bohm? The guy was $$ every time he started last year no matter where it was. — @MuttPloughman on X
I think I agree with this. Edmundo Sosa’s third base defense has improved a lot over the last few years. He had as many home runs as Bohm did last year in far fewer plate appearances. Bohm is significantly better than Sosa when it comes to controlling the strike zone, but Bohm’s aggressiveness and lack of swing-and-miss leads to a lot of quick outs. Sosa having one of the highest chase rates in the majors is probably his biggest flaw. Even if they keep Bohm, I think they should make third base a competition between Bohm and Sosa. Is that a crazy take?
Adolis Garcia Or Harrison Bader? — @jbfazz1213 on X
My answer is why not both? I thought the Phillies needed to acquire two or three outfielders heading into the offseason. They have an interesting NRI guy in Bryan De La Cruz and a power platoon bat in Gabriel Rincones Jr. Johan Rojas is still on the roster and could be an extremely valuable player if he ever develops into a slightly below average hitter. They still need more. I’m not sure if another move is coming.
Going back on the last question about Sosa, if I were the Phillies, I would have found someone to take on Bohm’s contract, re-signed Bader, moved Sosa to third, platooned Bryson Stott and Otto Kemp at second base and ran a four-man outfield rotation of Garcia, Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford and Harrison Bader. That would have addressed the outfield depth issue and added more balance with two lefty hitters and two righty hitters. There would have been enough at-bats to go around for everyone, including Crawford, who the Phillies insist needs to play “a lot.” Asking a 22-year-old to be an everyday player in his rookie season for an entire year is a lot. The Phillies haven’t had someone as young as Crawford accumulate enough plate appearances in a season to qualify for the batting title since Jimmy Rollins in 2001. That’s partly why I think the outfield will go through significant transformation in-season. If only the Phillies could have done more to avoid this.
We need the Bryce Harper that signed his contract to be back in the dugout, full of motivation, playing with a chip on his shoulder and showing everyone how much of an ELITE player he is. Be a leader Bryce! Please. – Holly Reardon Scally on Facebook
We did see a more reserved version of Bryce Harper last season. He still managed to put up great numbers. It could be a lot worse, just look at Mookie Betts’ offensive statistics from last year and compare them with Harper’s. I do think Harper could benefit a lot from starting his season with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. The tournament brings out a different level of energy and enthusiasm. The U.S. in 2023 made it a point to match their opponent’s energy. Harper has waited years for an opportunity to play for his country, and I think that will bring out a different level of intensity in him. Maybe that carries over into the regular season and beyond.
Both Stubbs and Marchan are out of options, both won’t make the roster this year, what will happen to the one that doesn’t? Free agent? – Bob Angeli on Facebook
Unless an injury pops up in camp, the Phillies will probably try to get Garrett Stubbs through waivers. Rafael Marchan will likely open the season as the backup to Realmuto. If Stubbs clears waivers, he’ll make a decent minor league salary ($575,000).
Any plan for moving Castellanos? It’s been radio silence other than “we’re planning on moving on from him”. What could they realistically get in a trade? – Quan Nguyen on Facebook
The Phillies are committed to finding Castellanos a “change of scenery.” They will wait as long as they can to find a trade partner, but time is running out. Neither side wants Castellanos to be with the Phillies once position players are required to report to Clearwater. I would personally be shocked if the Phillies got anything – either a prospect or money off the books – in return for Castellanos.
The most likely outcome is that he is released within the coming weeks and here’s why: The Phillies have backed themselves into a corner with Castellanos. There is zero indication that the Phillies are willing to keep him, so they have zero leverage in trade conversations with other teams. Castellanos has been the subject of trade rumors for years. Other teams are aware of how the relationship between the Phillies and Castellanos deteriorated. Other teams are also aware that Castellanos was not thrilled about being in and out of the lineup. He was also one of the worst qualified players in baseball last year. The Phillies signed his replacement weeks ago. It’s a tough sell. If I were a team that had a need either at first base or in the outfield and liked the idea of Castellanos playing with a chip on his shoulder, I would wait for the Phillies to release him and pay him the minimum salary.
What time is opening day? My Stubhub tickets say it’s at 3:05. But almost everywhere else says 4:15 – Trav Peura on Facebook
Opening Day against the Rangers was officially moved back from 3:05 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Please allow fans to print their tickets again. — Jack Peirson on Facebook
Now this is something I can really get on board with. Enough with the mobile tickets!
I love the Phillies more than anything. I feel like they didn’t do anything to improve the team. I’ll still root for them and still defend them, but this offseason was not good. – Victor Zaccagni on Facebook
I think this is the way most people feel right now. Once the season starts, there will be excitement for another year of baseball. But right now, I totally understand why fans feel underwhelmed after another offseason that lacked creativity. Once the regular season starts, what happened in the offseason is no longer the daily subject of conversation. If this team is good and runs away with the division again, people will get their hopes up again. The cycle continues!
Look out for part 2 later this week.