Latest On The Phillies’ Pitching Pursuits
The Phillies have long been known to be keeping an eye out for starting pitching depth in order to fortify their rotation, particularly given that Zack Wheeler is expected to open the year on the injured list. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke to reporters (including Todd Zolecki of MLB.com) earlier today about the team’s pursuits, and Zolecki reports that despite the team’s desire for pitching help, they were not involved in the market for future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer before he returned to the Blue Jays on a one-year, $3MM guarantee. Dombrowski went on to indicate that the remaining top starts available, Lucas Giolito and Zack Littell, are “not a fit” for what the Phillies are looking for either.
That might seem like a surprise on the surface, but it’s fairly understandable. All three hurlers are major league quality starters who figure to have the expectation of getting the opportunity to make a full slate of starts, health permitting. That’s not something the Phillies can offer, given that any addition would come in behind at minimum Wheeler, Jesus Luzardo, Cristopher Sanchez, and Aaron Nola on the team’s depth chart. That theoretically leaves one spot open at the back of the rotation even when Wheeler is healthy, but the team has not made it a secret that they hope to give Andrew Painter a significant opportunity in the rotation this year, perhaps as soon as Opening Day. If the rest of the rotation is healthy and another regular was added to the mix, pushing Painter in would either force the club to go to a six-man rotation or demote someone to the bullpen.
Given that, it’s perhaps not too surprising that Dombrowski indicated players like Giolito, Littell, and Scherzer aren’t fits for what they’re looking for. There’s a number of veterans left who seem likely to have to settle for minor league deals such as Patrick Corbin, Tyler Anderson, and Marcus Stroman, but outside of that group the pickings are rather slim. Even if one of those players were open to joining Philadelphia, it might not be an ideal fit. Dombrowski highlighted in his comments to Zolecki that the club’s preference is to add arms that can be optioned to the minors, given that Wheeler could return from the injured list as soon as early April.
It’s not impossible to find optionable starters on the free agent market, as shown by the teams recent minor league deal with right-hander Connor Gillispie. Dombrowski’s comments about their continued search for pitching came after the Gillispie deal, however, suggesting the team is still on the hunt for more talent. That’s not exactly a shock, given that Gillispie has just 34 big league innings under his belt and struggled badly in six starts with the Marlins last year. Fringe big leaguers like Gillispie are par for the course when it comes to free agents available who can still be optioned to the minors, however, and that makes it easy to understand why Dombrowski has indicated in his previous comments that he’s interested in swinging a trade for rotation depth.
Looking around the league, there’s certainly a handful of teams with an excess of optionable starters who could fit the Phillies needs. The Cubs (Javier Assad), Dodgers (Landon Knack), Tigers (Keider Montero) and Giants (Hayden Birdsong) are among the teams with optionable starters who have notable big league experience but are likely to be squeezed out of the club’s rotation entering the year. It’s not easy to get clubs to part with optionable rotation depth given the value of that resource, but if the Phillies are sufficiently motivated those teams could be better equipped to part with the sort of arm Dombrowski seems to be looking for than most. Failing that sort of trade, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training like Bryse Wilson, Tucker Davidson, or perhaps Gillispie (if he received a big league camp invite as part of his deal) seems likely to be where the Phillies turn as they look to give Painter competition for the vacant Opening Day rotation job.
Phillies Notes: Wheeler, Kerkering, Stott
Zack Wheeler threw a 21-pitch bullpen on Thursday, making the first time that the Phillies ace had thrown a BP since undergoing thoracic outlet surgery in September. Wheeler and Phils manager Rob Thomson each told reporters (including The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes) that Wheeler threw only fastballs and sinkers at about 85 percent effort, which is normal for any pitcher’s first bullpen session following an injury layoff. Everything went well enough that Wheeler is slated for another bullpen on Sunday, as for now, the right-hander is on a standard ramp-up plan.
It is still early enough in the process that neither Wheeler or the team is putting any kind of timeline on when the three-time All-Star could potentially make his return to Philadelphia’s rotation. TOS surgeries and their associated recovery periods are, as Thomson put it, “new stuff, and it’s different than a lot of other injuries. So, we really can’t pin it down to a day or a week.”
Still, it would seem like the early optimism that Wheeler could be back at some point in the first half of April has yet to abate. Wheeler was given a broad timeframe of 6-8 months in the wake of his surgery, so at the very least, it would seem like he’ll be able to return in the earlier end of that two-month window. A season-opening IL stint is definite, but Thomson said it is possible Wheeler could pitch in a Spring Training game before camp is over.
The Phillies surely aren’t going to rush Wheeler’s process, of course, since simply having him back pitching isn’t nearly as important as having him back in good form, both health-wise and results-wise. It is anyone’s guess as to whether or not Wheeler will able to recapture his superstar level of production immediately or even at all, given how many (but not all) pitchers dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome have never been the same after their surgeries. The fact that Wheeler is thus far feeling normal in his prep work is a great sign that the righty can again be a force in the rotation.
In other injury news, Orion Kerkering was sidelined by a Grade 1 hamstring strain right at the start of the Phillies’ camp, but the right-hander is set to throw a bullpen session today. Assuming no setbacks in Kerkering’s ramp-up, he should be on track for the Opening Day roster, as his arm will require less build for a relief role.
Kerkering will return to a high-leverage assignment in Philadelphia’s bullpen, though the addition of Brad Keller may push Kerkering a rung lower on the depth chart. Kerkering’s 2025 season will unfortunately be remembered for his game-ending and series-ending throwing error in Game 4 of the NLDS, but he delivered another solid campaign overall, with a 3.30 ERA and 24.4% strikeout rate over 60 innings. That strikeout rate was a dropoff from his 28.8K% in 2024, however, plus Kerkering’s walk rate spiked upwards.
Bryson Stott is another Phillie looking for more consistency in 2026, but the fact that the second baseman ended last season on a high note gives him lots of optimism for the coming season. As Stott told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, some brutal numbers in the first half led Stott to overhaul his approach on the fly at midseason, with adjustments that included lowering his hands and standing closer to the plate. The left-handed hitter also simplified things by just trying to pull the ball and make solid contact, rather than focus on trying to hit to all fields.
“If you just take your swing and it’s an outside pitch, it’s going to go to left, instead of trying to guide it to left,” Stott said. “For example, I’ll get an inside heater and I’m like, ‘Well, I want to hit the ball to left this at-bat,’ and then I try to finagle the barrel around and that’s when I get myself in trouble. The second half was more of just letting the ball dictate where it’s going to go rather than me trying to dictate where it’s going to go.”
Stott enjoyed a hot start in April before sinking into a deep slump, as he batted just .196/.266/.274 over 243 plate appearances from May 1 through July 22. From that point onwards, the swing changes starting clicking, as Stott hit .307/.376/.508 over his final 202 PA of the 2025 campaign.
Most of Stott’s season-long damage came against right-handed pitchers, as he batted only .225/.287/.228 in 123 PA against southpaws. Stott posted at least decent numbers against lefties in his first two MLB seasons, but his splits have cratered over the last two years, which has threatened his role as Philadelphia’s everyday second baseman. The team’s plan is to give Edmundo Sosa a big chunk (and maybe all) of the second base playing time when a left-hander is on the mound, though Stott believes he can perform well enough against southpaws to protect his spot in the lineup.
Phillies Sign Connor Gillispie To Minor League Deal
The Phillies have signed right-hander Connor Gillispie to a minor league deal, per multiple sources. Steve Potter of PhilliesBaseballFan.com was first on the deal last week. It’s unclear if Gillispie will be invited to big league camp.
Gillispie, 28, has 34 innings of big league experience between the Guardians and Marlins. He has featured a five-pitch mix including a low-90s four-seamer in addition to a cutter, sweeper, changeup and curveball. Unfortunately, he has allowed 25 earned runs in that time, 7.15 per nine innings. His 20% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 36.2% ground ball rate have all been under league average.
Miami designated him for assignment in June. He was claimed by the Twins but kept on optional assignment. He was passed through waivers and outrighted in August, then became a free agent at season’s end.
Gillispie also struggled in the minors last year, posting a 7.23 ERA over ten starts and two relief appearances. He has had better results on the farm in the past. In 2024, he logged 113 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.05 ERA. His 10.1% walk rate was a bit high but he was able to punch out one quarter of the batters he faced.
The Phils start the season somewhat shaky in the rotation. Zack Wheeler is trying to work his way back from last year’s thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. If he starts the season on the injured list, the Phils will open the campaign with Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker in four spots. Nola is coming off the worst season of his career. Walker’s performance has been up-and-down in recent years, prompting occasional moves to the bullpen. Prospect Andrew Painter could take the final rotation spot but he had a 5.40 ERA in Triple-A last year.
Beyond that projected front five, there’s not a ton of depth. Alan Rangel is on the roster but has just five big league games under his belt. Jean Cabrera and Yoniel Curet also have roster spots but haven’t cracked the big leagues yet. Bryce Wilson and Tucker Davidson are in camp as non-roster guys. Wilson had a 6.65 ERA in the bigs last year. Davidson’s last season with more than one MLB appearance was 2023.
Gillispie gives the Phils another arm for some more non-roster rotation depth. If he eventually gets selected to the roster, he still has an option remaining, so he could be shuttled to Triple-A and back.
Photo courtesy of Rhona Wise, Imagn Images
Poll: Will Both Justin Crawford, Andrew Painter Break Camp With Phillies?
The Phillies mostly ran things back over the offseason. They re-signed Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto. Their only notable external acquisitions were Adolis García, Brad Keller and Jonathan Bowlan. They let Ranger Suárez and Harrison Bader walk while parting ways with Matt Strahm and Nick Castellanos.
It’s apparent the front office wanted to leave opportunities for two of their most talented young players to break into what is otherwise one of the older core groups in MLB. The door is open for both Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter to head north out of Spring Training. The 22-year-old prospects will look to cement their spots in camp.
Crawford is coming off a fantastic Triple-A season. He hit .334/.411/.452 while stealing 46 bases (albeit with 11 times caught). He walked in nearly 12% of his trips to the plate against a lower than average 18% strikeout rate. The lefty hitter only connected on seven home runs because his swing is geared to hit almost everything on the ground. While that caps his power potential, there’s no need to mess with the mechanics of a player who has hit .322 with a .385 on-base percentage in his minor league career.
Prospect evaluators had varying opinions on Crawford earlier in his minor league days. He was a first-round pick (and the son of a four-time All-Star), so he has certainly had his share of acclaim, but the unconventional offensive approach gave some scouts pause. It has played at every minor league stop, raising the confidence level that Crawford can continue to hit against the highest level arms.
Crawford probably would have made his big league debut late last season if the Phillies hadn’t acquired Bader. He enters Spring Training as the favorite to start in center field on Opening Day, pushing Brandon Marsh to left field. The Phillies could shield him from left-handed pitching on occasion but are planning for him to be a regular. “If you’re going to give Crawford an opportunity, you’ve got to give it to him, and that’s where we are,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said in December. “We’re going to give him an opportunity and have him play a lot.”
Philadelphia won’t officially make the decision until Opening Day. They’ve had Crawford as the starting center fielder alongside their other regulars in the first few Spring Training contests. He should win the job unless he suffers an injury during exhibition play. If he does or struggles badly enough in Spring Training that they reconsider that plan, they’d probably be looking at Johan Rojas and Marsh splitting center field work with a rotating group of corner bats in left.
Painter might have a little more work to do during camp. Zack Wheeler won’t be ready for the start of the season. That draws Painter into the fifth starter role behind Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker. There are a few starters lingering on the free agent market (e.g. Lucas Giolito, Zack Littell, Max Scherzer). It’s early enough in camp that those pitchers could be ready for Opening Day if they sign within the next week or so. The Phillies have monitored the market for rotation depth, so an addition that pushes Painter back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley doesn’t seem out of the question.
Philadelphia’s rotation beyond their projected top six arms (Wheeler included) is thin. If they lose anyone else before Wheeler returns from his thoracic outlet procedure, they’d probably be pressed into using a minor league signee like Bryse Wilson or Tucker Davidson. There’s an argument for signing a Littell type and having Painter be their first man up in the event of an injury.
The 6’7″ righty also hasn’t mastered Triple-A competition the way that Crawford did last year. Painter made 22 starts and tossed 106 2/3 innings but struggled to a 5.40 earned run average with Lehigh Valley. He struck out an above-average 23.4% of opponents while walking just under 10% of batters faced. The stuff was quite good — a 97 mph average fastball headlining a five-pitch mix — but he was more susceptible to the home run ball than the Phils probably anticipated. While he remains one of the most talented pitching prospects in the sport, his seeming fast track to the majors was halted by Tommy John surgery that wiped out 2023-24 and last season’s uneven return.
Crawford and Painter meet the criteria for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. If the Phillies carry them for a full service year, they could each earn the team an extra draft choice if they play well enough to factor into awards consideration. They’d be on track to hit free agency after the 2031 season if they break camp and perform well enough to remain in the majors permanently. Keeping either player in the minors for a couple weeks would delay that by a year unless they finish in the top two in Rookie of the Year balloting.
Will both players be on the roster when the Phillies welcome Texas to Citizens Bank Park on March 26?
Will Justin Crawford and Andrew Painter break camp?
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Both players are on the Opening Day roster. 53% (1,262)
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Crawford breaks camp; Painter starts in the minors. 33% (794)
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Both players begin the season in the minors. 9% (212)
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Painter breaks camp; Crawford starts in the minors. 6% (133)
Total votes: 2,401
Phillies Release Nick Castellanos
The Phillies have released outfielder Nick Castellanos, per a club announcement. He’s now a free agent who can sign with any club for the league minimum.
Castellanos was slated to report to camp in the next few days. He’ll now stay at home and wait to learn where his next opportunity will come. He’s entering the final season of a five-year, $100MM contract that calls for a $20MM salary in 2026. The Phillies will remain on the hook for the entirety of that sum, minus the prorated portion of the league minimum paid to him by any other club who picks him up for even a portion of the season.
Today’s release should come as no surprise. Castellanos stood as an obvious trade or release candidate at season’s end, even before early-November reporting suggested that the Phils would cut ties with him. Earlier this week, it became clear that an inflection point was fast approaching. The Phillies weren’t able to find a taker for even a portion of Castellanos’ salary, it seems, so he’ll now head back to the open market and see if there’s interest from another team as a league-minimum player or minor league/non-roster player in camp.
Philadelphia’s signing of Castellanos always came as something of a surprise. They’d already signed Kyle Schwarber on a four-year, $79MM deal prior to signing Castellanos in the 2021-22 offseason. Both players profile as bat-first corner outfielders who are better suited for DH work, but the Phils opted to ink both to long-term deals, ensuring that one of the two would be in the outfield on a regular basis. That wound up being Castellanos more than Schwarber, and his annually poor glovework has only worsened over the course of his four seasons in Philly.
The hope for the Phils was that Castellanos’ bat would outweigh the negative contributions he’d made with his glove. He’d turned in a huge .309/.362/.576 slash with the Reds the season prior and was carrying an impressive .290/.345/.527 slash over the four years leading up to his Phillies deal.
Things didn’t pan out that way. Castellanos’ bat immediately went south in 2022. He hit just .263/.305/.389 in his first season of that five-year contract. He bounced back to an extent over the next two years (.263/.311/.454) but was barely above replacement level due to poor defense (-20 Defensive Runs Saved, -13 Outs Above Average). The 2025 season marked another step back. Castellanos hit .250/.294/.400 — about 10% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+ — and was dinged for -11 DRS and -12 OAA.
The Phillies might still have tried to coax something out of Castellanos in 2026 had tensions between the player and club not boiled over during the season. Castellanos was removed from a close game in Miami for defensive purposes and benched the next day after what manager Rob Thomson called an “inappropriate” comment. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported after the season ended that Castellanos’ teammates and coaches were “disgusted” by what he’d said. The outfielder later took a shot at Thomson’s communication skills down the stretch in the final weeks of the season.
Castellanos himself addressed the “Miami incident,” as he termed it, in a post on Instagram today. He made no mention of the comment that apparently rankled so many of his teammates but admitted to bringing a beer into the dugout out of frustration after being lifted from the game by Thomson.
“After being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family, I brought a Presidente into the dugout,” the Miami-area native wrote. “I then sat right next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others was not conducive to us winning.”
In his note today, Castellanos thanked his teammates for taking the drink from his hand before he actually took a sip, apologized to them and reiterated that he apologized to both Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski for letting his emotions get the better of him. He added that he was prepared to share the details of the incident with the media at the time it happened but was instructed not to by Phillies management.
The question now becomes one of which — if any — team will be willing to give Castellanos a fresh start in hopes that he can get back to his prior levels of offense. While he still hit for a decent average and knocked in 70-plus runs in each of the past three seasons in Philadelphia, much of that had to do with lineup placement and a strong cast ahead of him (e.g. Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Schwarber).
Castellanos has never walked much and has turned in three of his four career-low walk rates since donning a Phillies uniform. The plus power he showed with the Tigers, Cubs and Reds prior to signing in Philadelphia has dwindled, too; he posted an ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) north of .200 for six straight seasons prior to his Phillies tenure (.229 overall). He topped .200 just once with the Phillies, in 2023, when he logged a .204 mark. He’s lost two miles per hour on his bat speed over the past three seasons and posted below-average numbers against fastballs for the first time in his career in 2025, hitting .236 with a meek .368 slugging percentage versus four-seamers.
A club with DH at-bats to spare could well look into Castellanos, but it’s unlikely anyone would sign him to log significant time in the outfield. Teams will surely be wary of the manner in which his relationship with the Phillies deteriorated as well. For instance, Isaac Azout of Fish On First reports that the Marlins, despite lacking an obvious solution at designated hitter, aren’t interested in bringing Castellanos into the fold.
Phillies Seeking Rotation Depth With Wheeler Doubtful For Opening Day
Zack Wheeler is maybe the biggest wild card as the Phillies try to claim a third straight NL East title. The ace is working back from the thoracic outlet surgery that ended his 2025 season. The procedure came with a six to eight month recovery timeline from the end of September, calling his availability for the start of ’26 into question.
As camp gets underway, manager Rob Thomson provided a vague timetable for Wheeler’s return. “I don’t think he’ll be ready for Opening Day but it’s not going to be too far beyond that,” Thomson told reporters (link via Paul Casella of MLB.com). The 35-year-old righty is throwing from flat ground and “doing well” in the manager’s words, yet the Phils are obviously going to be cautious with the three-time All-Star. He has not progressed to mound work.
Between Wheeler’s injury and the free agent departure of Ranger Suárez, it’s a thinner starting staff than usual. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters (including Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer) they’ll look to deepen that group throughout the spring. “When our scouts go out there, that’ll be one of our focuses. And we may develop that internally, too; there’s some guys that we do like. But that’ll be a focus of ours, is starting pitching depth,” Dombrowski said.
That’s not to say the Phillies are likely to add Zac Gallen, Lucas Giolito or Chris Bassitt. It’s generally expected that their three-year deal to bring back J.T. Realmuto was the final big move of an offseason built around re-signing Kyle Schwarber that also saw them sign right fielder Adolis García and reliever Brad Keller.
There are some potential swing options available in free agency (e.g. Jose Quintana, Aaron Civale), though Dombrowski suggested there might be opportunities on the trade front. He noted that the relatively slow-moving free agent market for starting pitching could make some fringe arms on those signing teams available via trade — though that could certainly be counteracted as teams start losing pitchers to injury, as happens every year during Spring Training. A trade would also provide the Phillies with some extra roster flexibility if they can add someone who still has options remaining. Most free agents have the five-plus years of service time that gives them the right to refuse a minor league assignment.
Assuming Wheeler begins the season on the injured list, Cy Young runner-up Cristopher Sánchez should get his first Opening Day start. He’ll be followed in the rotation by Jesús Luzardo and Aaron Nola. Taijuan Walker worked in a swing role last year but seems more or less assured of a season-opening rotation spot.
That’d leave the fifth spot available in a camp battle. Top prospect Andrew Painter has a legitimate chance to win the job. Philly needed to add him to the 40-man roster this offseason because he’d reached Rule 5 eligibility. His stock has dipped a little from the time that he was widely viewed as the #1 pitching prospect in the sport. An elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery cost him the 2023-24 seasons.
Painter’s numbers at Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year weren’t as impressive. He surrendered a 5.40 ERA with a good but not elite 23.4% strikeout rate over 22 starts. He proved more susceptible to the home run than the Phillies would have liked, though his raw stuff remained very impressive. Painter averaged nearly 97 mph on his four-seam fastball while mixing in three breaking pitches (cutter, slider, curveball) and a changeup. He got whiffs on a strong 13% of his offerings. He remains one of the better pitching prospects in MLB and one of Philly’s top three minor league talents alongside shortstop Aidan Miller and outfielder Justin Crawford.
If Painter scuffles during Spring Training, the Phils can option him back to Lehigh Valley. They’re currently without many real alternatives to hold the fort until Wheeler’s season debut, however. Their other starters on the 40-man roster (e.g. Jean Cabrera, Yoniel Curet, Alan Rangel) also have little to no MLB experience. Non-roster invitees Tucker Davidson and Bryse Wilson don’t inspire a ton of confidence. Keller has starting experience but was signed to be a high-leverage reliever.
It’s understandable the Phillies want to leave the door open for Painter to win the job, especially if they anticipate Wheeler coming back within the first few weeks of the regular season. At the same time, even one more injury would leave the rotation looking precarious. Nola is coming off a bad season and Walker’s tenure in Philly has been a mixed bag. Wheeler is no guarantee to look the same as he did before the surgery. Adding some kind of swing depth is a must.
Phillies Looking To Move Nick Castellanos This Week
Phillies position players are scheduled for their first official workout next Monday. It’d make for an awkward situation if Nick Castellanos is still on the team. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported at the end of last season that the Phils would trade or release the outfielder. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has all but confirmed as much on the record, pointing to the need for a change of scenery.
Keeping Castellanos on the 40-man roster into Spring Training would be a needless distraction. It comes as little surprise that the Phils are motivated to get something done within the next week. “We’re doing everything we can to make a move by (Monday),” Dombrowski told reporters (link via Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “I’ll leave it at that right now.”
Dombrowski noted that they’re “(continuing) to talk to clubs” in trying to line up a trade. Whether that’s gamesmanship should soon be apparent. Castellanos isn’t going to net the Phillies any notable prospects. They’re trying to offload a fraction of the $20MM salary he’s owed in the final season of a five-year deal.
A release would leave the Phils on the hook for all but the $780K league minimum, assuming he signs a major league deal with another team. The hope is to find a team willing to eat a couple million dollars of that salary rather than waiting until the Phillies release him. If Castellanos becomes a free agent, he’d obviously have a choice of where to sign. He doesn’t have that freedom if a team lines up a trade that saves the Phillies a little bit of money.
The outfielder’s relationship with Philly manager Rob Thomson seemingly became untenable. Castellanos was benched for a game midway through last season after he made what the manager called “an inappropriate comment” after being removed from a game for defensive purposes. As his playing time decreased down the stretch, Castellanos took a shot at Thomson’s communication skills. Philadelphia signed the veteran skipper to an extension this offseason and added Adolis García on a $10MM free agent deal to replace Castellanos as the everyday right fielder.
Castellanos is entering his age-34 season. He’s coming off a .250/.294/.400 showing with 17 home runs over 589 plate appearances. He has been durable and has twice topped 20 home runs during his time in Philadelphia, but his rate statistics (.260/.306/.426) are exactly league average. That’s not what the Phillies had in mind considering Castellanos is arguably the game’s worst defensive outfielder. He should be a full-time designated hitter but obviously doesn’t have that luxury on a team with Kyle Schwarber.
FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each had Castellanos below replacement level last year. That said, a team that can offer him DH at-bats should view him as a capable complementary bat from the right side. The acquisition cost will be minimal, and a 20-homer season with strong numbers against lefty pitching doesn’t seem out of the question.
The Padres are looking for another bat in the DH/bench mix and made an unsuccessful run at signing Paul Goldschmidt away from the Yankees. The Guardians could use a right-handed complement to lefty swingers Kyle Manzardo, George Valera and C.J. Kayfus between first base, right field and designated hitter. No team had fewer home runs or a lower slugging percentage from their right-handed bats than Cleveland. The Marlins ranked 25th in slugging among righties and don’t have a clear answer at first base, and Castellanos is a Miami native. His old team in Detroit doesn’t have much in the way of right-handed power aside from Spencer Torkelson and could use him in a short-side platoon role at DH alongside Kerry Carpenter.
Injury Notes: McClanahan, Canning, Kemp
Rays fans have been waiting two years to see Shane McClanahan on a big-league mound. The electric lefty missed all of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, then lost another season to a nerve issue in his triceps. McClanahan is on track to be ready for the 2026 campaign, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, though the southpaw will likely have his workload capped in some fashion.
McClanahan was solid in his 2021 debut, then morphed into an AL Cy Young candidate the following season. He put together 28 starts of a 2.54 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning in 2022. McClanahan capped off the year with a strong start against the Guardians in the Wild Card round. He tossed seven innings of two-run ball, but was outdueled by Shane Bieber.
Even if he faces some sort of innings limit, adding McClanahan back to the rotation will be a welcome sight for a depleted Rays staff. Drew Rasmussen and Ryan Pepiot sit atop the group, but the certainties end there. Shane Baz tied for the team lead with 31 starts last season, but he is now pitching in Baltimore. Veterans Zack Littell and Adrian Houser are no longer in the organization. Taj Bradley was sent to Minnesota at the trade deadline. Joe Boyle, free agent signee Steven Matz, and trade acquisition Yoendrys Gomez are candidates to fill out the rotation, and Littell could also potentially come back in free agency.
Griffin Canning is recovering from his own major injury. The free agent right-hander is working his way back from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered with the Mets last season. Canning threw for interested teams on Friday and hit 93 mph on the radar gun, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.
The Cardinals, White Sox, and Mets have been mentioned as possible destinations for Canning. The veteran was putting together a strong campaign before going down in June. Canning had a career-best 3.77 ERA through 16 starts after signing a modest one-year, $4.25MM deal with New York. He ramped up his slider usage while tweaking the characteristics of the pitch with his new team, and Canning added more than three inches of vertical drop and 1.5 inches of horizontal movement to his primary breaking ball. He also made adjustments to his changeup. The tweaks helped Canning regain some of the strikeout ability he lost in his final season with the Angels.
On the position player side, utilityman Otto Kemp is expected to be a full go for the upcoming season. Kemp fractured his kneecap less than two weeks after getting called up last year. He played through the injury for the rest of the campaign. Kemp underwent offseason surgery to fix the issue and also had a cleanup procedure done on his shoulder. He told NBC Sports Philadelphia in an interview that he’s bouncing back well from the operations.
“Feeling back to 100%, which is awesome,” Kemp said. “It’s refreshing to feel that way after playing a lot of baseball banged up.”
The now 26-year-old provided some pop in his first taste of the big leagues, hitting eight home runs in 62 games. He finished with a .411 SLG, though it came with a strikeout rate above 30%. Kemp is among the internal options to compete for platoon work alongside Brandon Marsh in the outfield.
Phillies Re-Sign Lou Trivino To Minor-League Deal
The Phillies and reliever Lou Trivino are reuniting on a minor-league deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. The deal includes an invite to major-league Spring Training.
Trivino, 34, returns to Philadelphia after spending the end of the 2025 season with them. The club signed him to a minor-league deal in early August and selected his contract at the end of that month. In ten appearances down the stretch, Trivino had a shiny 2.00 ERA in nine innings despite some less-than-encouraging peripherals, including a 4.06 xERA and a 25.0% groundball rate. The same was true of his season overall. In 47 2/3 innings split between the Giants, Dodgers, and Phillies, Trivino posted a 3.97 ERA against an expected figure of 5.10 and a below-average 33.8% groundball rate.
The fact that he was pitching at all was a positive development considering he missed the 2023-24 seasons entirely. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and attempted to rehab in 2024 before suffering a shoulder injury. Prior to that, he had been a steady reliever since debuting with the Athletics in 2018. In 284 2/3 innings with the A’s and Yankees from 2018-22, Trivino had a 3.86 ERA with a solid 24.5% strikeout rate against a 10.6% walk rate. He was predominantly a fastball pitcher and got positive grades on his cutter and four-seamer early on in his career, including a run value of 14 on the cutter in his debut season.
Trivino’s stuff wasn’t as sharp in his first year back from injury. While his four-seam velocity of 94.8 MPH in 2025 was still above-average, it was down from 95.6 MPH in 2022. His cutter velocity of 91.8 MPH was his lowest since the 2020 season, while his sinker velocity also declined slightly. Meanwhile, his 17.9% strikeout rate and 33.8% groundball rate were both career-worst marks. The latter was troubling compared to his 47.4% groundball rate from 2018-22, including a 52.6% rate in 2022.
The deal is a no-risk flier for the Phillies. While his performance in 2025 was rusty overall, Trivino excelled at limiting hard contact. His average exit velocity allowed and hard-hit rate were both in the 93rd percentile or better according to Statcast. Those qualities alone won’t return Trivino to peak form, but they will play up if he can induce more strikeouts and groundballs. The Phillies have Jhoan Duran, José Alvarado, and Brad Keller headlining their bullpen. If Trivino performs well in Spring Training, he might vie for a middle-relief role alongside Tanner Banks, Jonathan Bowlan, and Orion Kerkering.
Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images
Phillies Re-Sign Daniel Robert To Minor League Deal
The Phillies are in agreement with reliever Daniel Robert on a minor league contract, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee after being dropped from Philadelphia’s roster at the tender deadline.
Robert landed in Philly last May via DFA trade with the Rangers. The 31-year-old righty made 15 appearances, allowing seven runs (six earned) across 13 innings. He struck out 15 but walked 10 out of 59 batters faced. Robert had better numbers in the minors, combining for a 2.67 earned run average across 30 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He struck out 27.3% of opponents against a sub-7% walk rate. A forearm strain cost him the final month of the season.
The Phillies cut Robert from the 40-man roster in November. The non-tender sent him to free agency without exposing him to waivers. Teams frequently try to circle back on minor league deals with pre-arbitration players in those situations. It took a few months but the Phillies follow that path with Robert, who’ll try to pitch his way back into the middle innings as long as he’s healthy during Spring Training.
Philadelphia doesn’t have a ton of bullpen opportunities available if everyone gets through camp healthy. Jhoan Duran, José Alvarado, Brad Keller, Tanner Banks, Jonathan Bowlan and Orion Kerkering have jobs secure. That’d leave two bullpen roles up for grabs unless the Phillies add a swingman late in the offseason. Free agent signee Zach Pop is out of options, while Rule 5 draftee Zach McCambley needs to break camp or be placed on waivers and offered back to the Marlins if he clears.