3 Players Who Could Provide the Phillies Nick Castellanos Insurance

Taylor Ward

The Mike Trout pipe dream will always be alive and well in the hearts of Philly fans, but with his injury and contract, Taylor Ward might be the next best thing.

Ward has a proven track record and would slot in nicely to the middle of the Phillies lineup as a strong righty bat to compliment lefties in Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryson Stott. He is currently hitting .240 with 12 home runs and an OPS+ of 108, and which will provide better range and defense than the Phillies were getting from Castellanos.

The current Angel will command a decent haul in return as he has two years of control left on his contract, but Dombrowski is anything but timid when it comes to making moves to go for it all in October.

Mark Cahna

Mark Cahna is definitely the safest option available. Assuming the Tigers are unable to make a run and jump strong teams like the Guardians and the Royals in the division, they may be looking to trade veterans like Cahna.

Cahna has proven to be a solid, above average big leaguer with experience in the NL East last year with the Mets. His numbers aren’t flashy, with a .243 average and just 6 home runs. But Cahna provides something Castellanos doesn’t: plate discipline. He’s in the 91st percentile in chase rate and the 83rd percentile in walk rate. 

Although he’s currently dealing with hip soreness, it doesn’t appear to be anything serious that will hamper him down the stretch. Again, this wouldn’t be a flashy move, but he’s a solid player who has accumulated nearly 1 win above replacement this year, has the ability to play first base, and would be a solid addition to the bottom third of the Phillies lineup.

He won’t come at a huge price and even if everything turns around with Castellanos, he has the ability to transition into a great veteran bench piece during a playoff run.