The Philadelphia Phillies have been connected to a last-minute trade with an NL West ballclub.
The Philadelphia Phillies haven't been incredibly active this offseason outside of re-signing Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto.
Yes, they added outfielder Adolis Garcia and relief pitcher Brad Keller in free agency, but they haven't truly made any significant acquisitions, nor have they made any trades.
In terms of the latter, that could change before the start of the 2026 MLB campaign, as the Phillies are still looking to move outfielder Nick Castellanos.
Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly has pitched a last-minute trade idea for Philadelphia in that regard, proposing that the Phillies move Castellanos to the Colorado Rockies.
"Castellanos could get relatively consistent at-bats in a very hitter-friendly environment if he was willing to move around a bit defensively," Kelly wrote. "And the Rockies would be taking a chance that Castellanos — who posted an .839 OPS as recently as the second half of the 2024 season — bounces back and becomes a July trade candidate."
Last season, Castellanos slashed .250/.294/.400 with 17 home runs and 72 RBI over 589 plate appearances while playing terrible outfield defense.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos. Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images.The 33-year-old also had a run-in with manager Rob Thomson, an encounter that was so bad that Castellanos has reached the point of no return in Philadelphia.
The problem is that the two-time All-Star is due $20 million this coming season, the final year of his deal. The Phillies would certainly have to eat a good chunk of that salary in order to trade him, and even then, Castellanos barely has any value.
It's true that Castellanos is just three seasons removed from an All-Star appearance, when he slashed .272/.311/.476 with 29 homers and 106 RBI in 2023. But he has fallen off considerably since then and is now multiple years older.
Perhaps an offensively-challenged team like Colorado would consider Castellanos under the right circumstances, but it's getting to a point where Philadelphia may just have to release Castellanos if it truly wants to part ways with him.
Based on everything we have been hearing, it seems hard to imagine Castellanos starting the 2026 season in Philly.
Should the Phillies release the Hialeah, Fl. native, it would be interesting to see how quickly another club scoops him up.
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