Phillies president of baseball Dave Dombrowski spoke to the media this week and said the club is focused on its exit after the game. Adolis García to sign. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the club is looking at a platoon right winger to add to the mix.
That’s a reasonable goal, given the current setup. García should have the right field mentioned Brandon Marsh on the left. Phils want to give Justin Crawford the opportunity to take on the field work of the institution. Both Marsh and Crawford are frogs. Marsh has had remarkable career fields, with a .213/.278/.303 line and a 61+ wRC against southpaws in his career. Crawford has been much better against minor leaguers this year but in a small sample of 91 plate appearances against southpaws.
Having another righty bat who hits lefties well would make sense, especially playing with Marsh. Crawford is a speed and defense guy. He hit well in the minors but with a high contact, low power approach that may be difficult to pull off against better pitching and better defense in the majors. Time will tell how it plays out but the Phils may be willing to live with any offense they can put together if they steal bases and run the ball down the field.
Gelb speaks Rob Refsnyder like the type of profile the Phillies are looking for, a righty bat who has put lefties in his career. He is one of many free agents to fit this profile, alongside the boys Miguel Andujar, Randal Grichuk, Austin Hays, Tommy Pham, Austin Slater and others. An old friend Harrison Bader it would be nice but maybe he can get a daily field job somewhere else.
The Phils also have a potential solution already on the roster Nick Castellanos. His offense has regressed in recent years but he has always worked well for the benefit of the team. He didn’t hit well against pitchers of any handedness in 2025 but still hit lefties as recently as 2024, when he had a .269/.324/.506 line and a 124 wRC+ in the split.
Gelb reported in October that the Phils might trade or release Castellanos. He reiterated that position in this week’s column, linked above. It’s an interesting job for the Phils as Castellanos may be the profile they’re looking for but it looks like they’ll be looking elsewhere. Maybe that’s due to his defensive shortcomings or the fact that he hit just .243/.293/.387 against lefties in 2025 with an 87 WRC+.
It is also theoretically possible that it is due to forces outside the field. Castellanos and manager Rob Thomson don’t seem to have the best relationship. Castellanos was benched in June for inappropriate comments made by the captain, according to ESPN. Castellanos also publicly criticized Thomson for his communication skills. In an apparent contradiction, perhaps things would have been worse had Castellanos been relegated to a part-time, short-team role.
Whatever the reason, it seems like the Phils are in a weird situation. Castellanos is still owed $20MM next year. If they don’t find a partner, they may end up letting him go. It looks like they will be looking for a replacement again, maybe spending another $5MM or so on a new guy. The Phillies also pay taxes and are above the top line, meaning they pay a 110% tax on any additional spending. In the end, they’re likely to give Castellanos $20MM to leave, then spend a few million more on his replacement, plus taxes.
On the pitching side, Gelb reports that the Phils are looking for rotation depth but don’t seem to be looking for any guys with multi-year contracts. That makes sense with what they already have, as they have few questions but may have enough arms.
Zack Wheeler is recovering from surgery to treat venous thoracic outlet syndrome. He is expected to start the season on the injured list but may return to the game early in the campaign. While he’s out, the Phils have to start the season with a solid rotation Christopher Sánchez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker again Andrew Painter.
There is controversy over whether the club has signed another starter but things could be tight once Wheeler returns. If they signed a big free agent, then there is a situation at the beginning of the season where this free agent, Wheeler, Sánchez, Luzardo and Nola have five spots in the rotation. That would bump Walker to long relief and Paint to Triple-A.
The Phils may want to make way for Painter if 2026 is his breakout year. His 5.40 earned run average in Triple-A this year wasn’t great but that was mostly due to the home run, which is unusual for him. 17.6% of his fly balls allowed went over the fence, compared to just 5.6% in 2022 before the injury. This year’s 23.7% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate were very close to average.
With Wheeler out, the Phils could give Painter a chance to hold down a rotation spot. By the time Wheeler returns, the Phils can decide whether Painter needs more Triple-A time or if he’s ready to go.
All of this assumes that everyone is healthy at the same time. Given the possibility of injuries to the pitching staff, perhaps the Phils should strengthen the team anyway. With Walker and Luzardo still set to become free agents, signing a multi-year deal now would help the club through 2027.
However, the team’s salary for 2026 is very close to what it was in 2025. According to RosterResource, they are $14MM short of where they finished last season. If they re-sign JT Realmuto as expected, they will end up making up most or all of that difference. According to CBT, as mentioned, they are already above the top line and are facing 110% in continuous spending. Rather than going after a big rotation splash, they’ll add depth but mostly hope the guys they already have can step up.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images
