As some team’s scramble to get their last bits of business completed before the offseason clock strikes midnight, the Philadelphia Phillies grabbed the attention of the baseball world on Thursday.
After much speculation on his future in the City of Brotherly Love, after GM Preston Mattingly said earlier this winter that they were exploring “a change of scenery” the veteran outfielder, the two officially parted ways…but not via trade.
After reportedly telling him not report to spring training days prior, the Phillies released Castellanos and his $20 million salary.
This was a move written on the wall after the two parties didn’t seem to see eye-to-eye and the two-time All-Star’s playing time suffered as a result. The one incident everyone goes back to is his early benching in a game against the Miami Marlins back in June, where Castellanos was reportedly visually upset.
But a new wrinkle surfaced, which Castellanos addressed himself in a letter revealed following his release, that he brought a beer into the dugout mid-game.
And while there may’ve been several reasons as to why Castellanos wasn’t a great fit for the Royals’ outfield needs to begin with, this seemed to be the nail in the coffin on why Kansas City should end any potential pursuit of him, even if he doesn’t cost $20 million anymore.
Bizarre mid-season beer incident should solidfy the fact that Nick Castellanos is not a great fit for the Royals
Apparently, as Castellanos chewed out manager Rob Thomson for his decision to pull him while teammates restrained him, the veteran had a beer in hand, which, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, was timely snatched away from him by Phillies special assistant Howie Kendrick.
While Castellanos seemed apologetic in his letter and, according to him, discussions with Thomson and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski in the immediate aftermath of the incident ended in apologies, the fact it happened in the first place is not a gamble the Royals should take.
Last season, when acquiring Adam Frazier ahead of the trade deadline, one of the reasons that drew Kansas City to re-unite with the utility man was his great clubhouse presence, as MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported. They already seem to value that strong veteran leadership quality.
Now, one incident doesn’t define someone’s character and perhaps Castellanos will be a great addition to a clubhouse somewhere else. But for a team like the Royals, who’s core is still quite young, bringing in the right veteran options, similar to say a Salvador Perez or Michael Wacha, is key when it comes to finding that clubhouse balance.
On top of that, while there’s no reason to believe Castellanos is black hole offensively after posting 90 wRC+ and driving in 72, they weren’t the most awe-inspiring numbers either. And his potential primary DH role due to some lackluster outfield defense makes him someone who lacks versatility and flexibility, which are two things this team has adopted recently.
At the end of the day, having an All-Star bat capable of driving in 70+ runs on his worst year suddenly enter free agency may seem tempting, but as more things start to surface beyond the stat sheet, this fit seems less and less appealing.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
