Phillies black sheep could be more attainable to Royals after Kyle Schwarber decision

After a calm Day 1 of the Winter Meetings, where rumors dominated the headlines as opposed to actual transactions, Day 2 was different story almost immediately.

Before the clock struck noon on Tuesday, two of the bigger free agent names came off the board. First it was the Philadelphia Phillies locking up their DH and MVP finalist last season in Kyle Schwarber to a brand new five-year, $150 million contract. Then just minutes later, the news of Edwin Díaz signing with the Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million deal dropped.

Now, while the Royals could use relief pitching, Díaz seemed like more than they needed and thus doesn’t have a terrible amount of bearing on Kansas City’s offseason plans.

However, while Schwarber never seemed like an option for the Royals, his re-signing with the Phillies could have some indirect impact on the Royals, as it could make one of his teammates a lot more attainable for Kansas City via trade. This of course is veteran Nick Castellanos.

Phillies re-signing Kyle Schwarber could make it easier for the Royals to trade for Nick Castellanos

Now, let me preface, there are definitely some red flags when it comes to Castellanos and he may not be the greatest of outfield fits available to the Royals.

That being said, he’s a fit nonetheless. His 2025 season, where he slashed .250/.294/.400 with 17 HR, 72 RBI and 90 wRC+ wasn’t anything to write home about, but when you consider the fact that the Royals outfield sat dead last in wRC+ at 73, 29th in OPS at .633, T-26th in AVG at .225, T-28th in HR at 37 and 30th in RBI 139, a season like his in 2025 certainly wouldn’t have hurt them.

And it’s not as if he hasn’t been a valuable outfielder recently. He managed to prouce above-average seasons in the eyes of wRC+ the two season prior to 2025. Sure, he’s not the 140 wRC+ All-Star he was back in in Cincinnati in 2021, but he’s still managed to be solid run producing outfielder consistently since then.

And the Royals don’t necessarily need him to be that guy with how strong their existing core of Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez already are. They just need him to be complementary piece that can contribute, and considering how solid a run producer he’s been even in his decline, he has a case to fit that bill.

Then, from a positional fit standpoint, while he’s not the best defender by any means, the Royals roll with a flexible DH spot, where Castellanos could take some reps at and they have right-handed platoon ABs available in right field and a wide open left field spot, so there’s plenty of places Castellanos could feasibly slot into.

The big sticking point with Castellanos will be his contract, which hasn’t aged well. However, he’s entering the final year of his deal, meaning at worst he’s a one-year, $20 million commitment.

Still $20 million, regardless of the remaining term is a lot for a smaller market team to pay one player in a given season. But maybe that doesn’t have to be the case with the Royals.

Given Phillies GM Preston Mattingly’s comments at the Winter Meetings on Monday, it appears Philadelphia has doubled-down in showing their hand of wanting to deal him.

“We’ve looked to get Nick a change of scenery,” Mattingly said. “Good for both sides, I think it’d help Nick out and help the organization as well.”

“We’re actively having conversations,” he said.

So, with the Phillies actively looking for a trade fit, perhaps it’s not egregious to think in order to achieve a change of scenery for Castellanos they could retain some money to ease the burden on the team acquiring him.

After all, signing Schwarber to a $30 million AAV indicates their focus seems to be on continuing to compete, meaning freeing up even part of Castellanos’ $20 million salary could help them further build this roster up for 2026.

Retained money aside though, the Phillies could stand to gain from Kansas City and their wealth of starting pitching depth. Beyond Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola atop their staff, the question marks start to build.

Names like Kris Bubic or Ryan Bergert could provide some desperately needed quality in the middle-to-lower portion of the rotation that Philadelphia needs to regain after potentially losing the likes of Ranger Suarez in free agency and continuing to navigate the complex health situation of Zack Wheeler.

Time will tell whether the Royals would be willing to take on a risky and potentially less straightforward fit like Castellanos, but you can’t deny the Phillies’ need to move off of him just got stronger, making a trade more beneficial for Kansas City.