With Nick Castellanos And Kyle Schwarber Signings, Phillies Get Their Guys And Signal Attitude Change

The Phillies are going for it — officially.

Last week’s free-agent signings of sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos signaled how much — actually, how desperately — team management wants to end a decade of flops and failures in Philadelphia.

In some ways, the signings sent a louder message then when the team signed $330 million superstar Bryce Harper in March 2019.

The Harper signing said: We got our dude for the next 13 years.

The Schwarber and Castellanos deals said: Competitive Balance Tax be damned! We want to win now.

For years, the fanbase had heard the bravado from Phillies Managing Partner John Middleton — that no luxury-tax threshold would prevent the team from signing the player that could guarantee a Red October. Apparently that player is Castellanos.

Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski met with Middleton in a meeting on Thursday morning to sell the idea of signing Castellanos, according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb — and it wasn’t a difficult sell. Castellanos, a dangerous right-handed hitter and clubhouse leader, would protect the lefty-hitting Harper in the middle of the Phillies’ lineup while playing left field. In 2021, Castellanos slashed .309/.362/.576 with 34 home runs, 38 doubles and 100 RBI. He leads all hitters in doubles (189) and is third in total bases (1,346) since 2017.

Dombrowski and Middleton then consulted Jim and Pete Buck, Middleton’s ownership partners. And about an hour after the meeting began, the decision was made: Let’s smash through the $230 million CBT threshold and get Castellanos. The Phils will also surrender a 2022 second-round draft pick to the Reds after Castellanos declined the the Reds’ one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer in November.

The Phillies will give Castellanos $100 million over 5 years. The deal followed the announcement that the team inked Schwarber to a four-year, $79 million contract.

Schwarber, who’s good for 30 bombs a year, will become Philadelphia’s first full-time designated hitter (excluding the pandemic-shortened 202o season), after MLB will implement the universal DH this season as part of the new collective bargaining agreement.

Not to be overlooked: The Phils also announced last week that it signed two veteran relievers — right-hander Jeurys Familia and left-hander Brad Hand — to one-year, $6 million contracts. Familia and Hand will setup new closer Corey Knebel, whom the Phils gave a one-year, $10 million deal.

But even with this geyser of spending, all of Philly’s flaws haven’t been fixed. It’s a team that has had a broken bullpen for eons, and the ‘pen can’t be deemed repaired until it actually is. And the additions of Castellanos and Schwarber have done nothing to improve one of the worst defenses in the game.

National MLB writer Jim Bowden said “playing in the small confines of Citizens Bank Park with so many big bats will help the Phillies be among the league leaders in home runs.” But Bowden still ranks the Phils as the third-best team in the NL East behind defending champs Braves and Mets, who brought in Max Scherzer and Starling Marte, among others, this offseason.

Now isn’t the time for negative analysis of the Phillies’ big moves — and bigger spending. As Harper said on Saturday of the Castellanos signing: “I would never have thought that would have happened.” Neither did the team’s fanbase. And time will tell if busting through the tax threshold will reward the Phillies with what they need most — a playoff berth.