Phyllis will sign Nick Castellanos

10:32 pm: It’s a five-year, $100 million deal, Hyman reports (Twitter link).

10:27 pm: Velez agree with the free midfielder Nick CastellanosESPN’s Jeff Bassan reports (on Twitter). It was MLB’s John Heyman chirp Shortly before that, the two sides were close to reaching an agreement. Castellanos is a customer of Boras Corporation.

It’s the second notable hit in three days for Velez, from I agreed to the terms with slugger Kyle Schwarber on a four-year deal on Wednesday. As teams like the Mets and Braves continue to add to their roster to fight for first place in the NL East, the Phils have added two influential bats to their midfield.

Castellanos, 30, became a free agent in November after he exercised the opt-out clause and has walked away for the last two years and remains $34 million in a four-year, $64 million contract with the Reds. The decision was highly anticipated, given the strength of its Cincinnati production. The Reds made a qualifying bid for Castellanos, which he naturally declined, meaning it would cost Velez their second-highest pick and $500,000 in their international bonus pool. In the meantime, the Reds will receive a compensatory prize after the first round of the 2022 draft.

Castellanos added to a lineup that already includes Schwarber, the NL MVP . referee Bryce Harperall star catcher JT Realmotoslugger Reese Hoskins And the product steadily Jan Segura It gives the Velez the possibility of forming a dominant team – especially if young talents like it Alec Boom And the highest probability Bryson Stott They can establish themselves as major contributors to the league. As a team, the 2021 Phillies were a middleweight group, ranking 13th in major competitions (706), 15th in home runs (198), 18th in hitting average (.240), and 13th in one-day run . – Base ratio (.318), 14 in hysteresis (.408) and tied for 18th in WRC+ (93).

Castellanos, who will presumably split time with Schwarber between the left court and the newly set hitting slot in the National League, wrapped up the best season of his big football career. In 585 games for the Reds, he has converted his .309/ .362/ .576 hitting streak to a career high 34 times. It doesn’t offer a huge walking rate, but the Castellanos cruise at a below average rate and are a consistent source of high hit rates and slow percentages.

A longtime consistent and productive hitter with his original organization, the Tigers, Castellanos took his game to new heights when trading Cubs in 2019. Since that trade, he has amassed an exceptional .292/.346/.571 hitting streak with 64 home runs and 70 doubles And three times in 1,052 games between Chicago and Cincinnati. That output is 34% better than the league average, measured by WRC+, and a little of it looks frustrating. Castellanos consistently records hit rates north of 40% and barrel rates north of 10% which, combined with his above-average bat-to-ball skills, lead Statcast to rank him among the game leaders in expected average hits and expected slowdown percentage based on annual.

Of course, adding Castellanos to a squad already facing a defensive challenge whose signature off-season addition so far has been Schwarber’s defensive challenge creates his own concerns. Castellanos has improved his defense in the right field since his first move from third base earlier in his career, but he is still considered a well below average defender in any of his corners. The 2021 Phillies already ranked last in the main competitions in the Defensive Courses, and this wasn’t a problem unique to last year’s team. The Phillies have been ranked among the worst defensive teams in baseball for over half a decade now, regularly trotting on substandard defenders and embarking on curious defensive experiments that have not proven successful (eg. Reese Hoskins in the left field).

Bringing the Castellanos into the mix won’t fix this longstanding organizational flaw, but it will nonetheless turn an already deep Velez lineup into one of the most formidable units in the entire National League. Given that the Phils also have a strong spin – Zach WheelerAnd the Aaron NolaAnd the Zach EvelynAnd the Ranger SuarezAnd the Kyle Gibson The hope is that the strong start and unwavering line-up can continue all day despite shady glove work and a crew with many question marks.

More is coming.