The Philadelphia Phillies are entering the 2025 season without having answered the most obvious questions on the roster. After collapsing in the NLDS against the Mets, the Phillies failed to address the biggest concerns surrounding the team. The bullpen imploded and the team struggled to hit, resulting in an earlier-than-anticipated exit.
The biggest weakness of the team was the outfield. The Nick Castellanos-Brandon Marsh-Johan Rojas unit finished the season with a collective .692 OPS, the 18th-best number in the league. The Phillies signed Max Kepler to be the left fielder, but he has serious durability concerns, having missed at least 32 games in each of his last four seasons. The weak outfield that plagued Philadelphia last season may very well look the same in 2025.
Castellanos is a particularly big concern. He had his moments last season, but he continues to be frustratingly inconsistent. He was one of the few Phillies who were good in the NLDS, winning them a game. At the same time, when the Phillies were the hottest team in baseball to start last season, Castellanos was nowhere to be seen. He will have long, cold stretches where he does absolutely nothing at the plate.
In the season as a whole, Castellanos was wildly average, finishing with .254/.311/.431, 23 home runs, 86 RBI, and six stolen bases. The defensive side hasn't been much better, with Castellanos ranking as the worst defensive outfielder in terms of defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs.
In his age-33 season, it is unrealistic to expect Castellanos to go back to his All-Star season in 2023 when he posted 1.5 WAR. Despite getting paid like an elite slugger, Castellanos is hard to trust at this point. Unless he can tap into some newfound consistency, the two-time All-Star will be among the weakest links for the Phillies next season.