[UPDATE: The Mets traded Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Simien. They saved us from ourselves]
[UPDATE: Upon suggestion from reader Chris Otto, I’ve added Mike Trout because HOW COULD I NOT HAVE MIKE TROUT IN THIS]
So, you want to trade Nick Castellanos, huh? It’s not that easy, but it’s not impossible either. The problem is that he has 1 year and $20m left on his contract. I’m kidding, the real problem is that he stinks. Despite having a knack for being the only player to show up when his teammates can’t hit a beachball, most of the time he’s a free swinger with no plan who lacks power and makes poor decisions. He is also comically in denial about his inability to play defense. How do you get rid of someone with negative value?
BY TRADING FOR OTHER NEGATIVE VALUE!!!
Wonderful.
It’s sad but true that this is all the Phillies can get for their former huge free agent signing. If they can’t trade him, they will have to eat all $20m of his salary. The idea is to either agree to pay most of his contract or take on something less comparatively toxic. Would you rather pay someone $30m over 2 years or $20m over 1 year? The Phillies have money coming off the books next year, so using Castellanos to offset an acquisition for one year makes some sense too. Let’s explore some options…
First off, if anyone is offering to take any part of his contract, that’s probably the deal to make. I think that would be $5m tops. While anything helps, let’s think outside the box for players who could provide some value.
Luis Robert Jr.
I will continue banging the Robert drum because he can play defense and hit lefties. We could have used that this postseason. Is he too expensive? Yes. Is he the worst person you’ve ever seen against righties? Yes. Does that matter in a straight 1 for 1 swap for someone we don’t want? No. It his someone who does something well versus someone who does nothing well.
This is a weird one in that Chicago has not yet exercised Robert’s team option for 2025-26. That is expected to happen though in an attempt to get something of value for their former star. Why would Chicago exercise the option just to trade him for someone bad? Well, over the last 2 years, Castellanos has been the better hitter. Chicago might see him as the better option to reclaim some value this year. Why does Philly do it? Because Robert would be a 4th outfielder, not a starting one. The ability to do something very well sometimes is better than the ability to do nothing right all the time. Castellanos can start in Chicago, not in Philadelphia.
| Name | G | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | SB | SO:BB |
| Robert | 210 | .223 | .288 | .660 | 28 | 88 | 68 | 3.75:1 |
| Castellanos | 309 | .252 | .303 | .719 | 40 | 158 | 10 | 3.75:1 |
Marcus Semien
4 years ago, Semien signed a bonkers 7/$175m contract that could not have worked out any better for Texas. He has 21 WAR, a Top-3 MVP finish, and a World Series ring. Why would the Rangers want to get rid of him? Because he had a .669 OPS last year at age 34. He also still has 3/$72m left on the deal and the Rangers are strapped for cash thanks to an imploded TV rights deal that still isn’t completely figured out at this point. Despite his still excellent defense at 2nd base, the Rangers would probably love to cut bait before this deal gets real ugly.
Why would the Phillies want him? Honestly, after writing that, I don’t know why they would. The idea would be that he plays 3rd base and provides a K:BB ratio that is twice as good as Castellanos and better than Bohm with much better defense. He wouldn’t really improve the team at the plate though. The Rangers would need to throw in some money themselves for future years.
Andrew Benintendi
Benintendi is not very good but still managed 20 HRs in 116 games last year. He strikeout about double the amount he walks which is a huge improvement over Castellanos. Why would Chicago trade for a worse hitter and defender? Because Benintendi has $32m left over 2 years while Castellanos has $20m over 1. The Phillies do it for the salary relief plus everyday competence. It’s not a sexy move, but it is beneficial to both sides.
Josh Hader (and Christian Walker?)
The Astros have made some silly money moves over the last 2 seasons. They let Alex Bregman walk, traded Kyle Tucker, and splurged on Christian Walker and Josh Hader. Now they have an aging roster that needs to pay Framber Valdez now and Jeremy Pena very soon. Do they really want to pay Josh Hader $19m over the next 3 years?
I’m not dumb, I know the Astros aren’t giving up an elite reliever for nothing just to shed salary. Taking on Castellanos to offset the first year of salary could get them a better prospect haul from the Phillies though. Would you send Aroon Escobar and Keaton Anthony with Castellanos to Houston for Hader? All of a sudden you have ELITE closer options from both the left and the right side.
Let’s say the Astros really want to shed salary and ask the Phillies to take Christian Walker too. He was brutal last year and still has 2/$40m left on his deal. He did hit 27 HRs last year albeit with an awful 4.5:1 K to walk ratio. How about Castellanos and Taijuan Walker ($38m next year) for Hader and Walker ($39m next year, $39m in 2026, and Hader’s $19m in 2027). Maybe the Phillies still have to throw in a prospect, but it would not be much of one. This is the kind of move teams with deep pockets do. Is an extra year of a bad contract worth it to get Hader?
Mike Trout
It wouldn’t be a negative value trade article for the Phillies without mentioning Mike Trout. He still has 5 years and $185.5m left on his deal that averages $37m per year. Christ, that’s tough. Making it worse, last season was the first time Trout hasn’t really looked like Trout when he played. For all the injury problems that have crippled his once unfathomable counting statistics, when he actually did play, he always looked good. Kind of like Joel Embiid, that didn’t happen last year. Sure, he still had a very respectable .797 OPS, but in 130 games it was a far cry from his .991 career average. He was also mostly a DH to save his health. On the bright side though, he did play 130 games and still walks a ton.
The only way for the Phillies to even consider fulfilling the Trout destiny of playing in Philly is for the Angles to eat a ton of his salary. Taking Nick Castellanos this year is fine, but how about taking Taijuan Walker too? That comes to nearly a flat swap of contracts. That still leaves 4/$148.4m. How much of that is enough to justify Trout? Half? More? I’m thinking $15m per season TOPS is how much the Phillies should pay for an aging DH, even one with the superstar pedigree of Mike Trout. So, here’s the trade, Nick and Taijuan for Trout and $88m over 4 years. Sweet mercy. The only way that happens is if Trout literally asks Angels owner Arte Moreno to make the deal. Otherwise, why not keep the biggest star in franchise history if it is only going to save money.
I’m not against it though. Trout coming home always seemed right even as his body was failing him for some reason. Plus, he did hit 26 HRs last year. He would likely hit his 500th HR as a Philly and there would be a ton of money to be made off of him. That might seem silly, but ownership likes those kinds of things.
All stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com. All salary info courtesy of spotrac.com

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