CLEARWATER, Fla. — Nick Castellanos, after meeting the media for the first time as a Philadelphia Phillie, walked away from the podium on Wednesday afternoon and locked eyes with Karie Dombrowski, wife of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
“Hey Nick,” she said with a grin. “I’m Landon’s mom!”
Castellanos’ face lit up. Landon, who is now a senior at Wake Forest University, was just 13 years old when Castellanos first met him. Castellanos was playing in the Detroit Tigers organization, under Dombrowski’s front office. The two instantly connected, watching SpongeBob in the big-league clubhouse, and shagging balls in the outfield together. They still stay in touch.
“I tell him all the time,” Castellanos said, “if one day I own a team, he’s my general manager.”
Wednesday seemed to be a full-circle moment for Castellanos, who turned 30 earlier this month. He played with new teammate Bryce Harper in Venezuela with USA Baseball in 2009. Dombrowski drafted Castellanos a year later, out of high school. Even back then, Dombrowski saw a difference maker.
“He was always was a guy who grinded out his at-bats,” Dombrowski said. “He took pride in his approach. Matt Martin is a guy I’ve known for a long time, he coached with us when I was with the Detroit Tigers. He’s a real outstanding baseball person. He’s worked with Nick for years. And he would send me videos in the wintertime of Nick working out at his facility with him. And has sent them to me regularly.
“I’m talking about the middle of winter, working out at his facility for days, trying to get better. And that’s what he brings to the table. He wants to get better all the time. I saw it years ago, and I also see it now, and he’s not at all content to be where he is now. He wants to get better.”
After a career season in 2021, “better,” for Castellanos, could mean winning an MVP award. Last year, with the Reds, he hit .309/.362/.576 with 100 RBIs and 34 home runs, earning him a trip to the All-Star Game. According to ESPN, since the beginning of 2016, Castellanos ranks 14th among all MLB hitters in hits (860) and ranks second in doubles (214).
He described his approach at the plate as “survival.”
“I’ve got to feed my family,” Castellanos said. “I don’t have a college degree, I hit baseballs.”
“He’s a tough son of a gun who just puts together ABs as well,” Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long said of Castellanos. “He can really, really, really hit. That’s what he can do. He hits off speed, he hits fastballs. He covers the strike zone very, very well. He’s got big power. He’s got bat-to-ball skills for a big guy. Just another guy who does a lot of things well.”
Manager Joe Girardi told reporters on Wednesday morning that he chatted with Castellanos about his role, and that the outfielder was told he’d take fly balls at left field, right field, and likely DH a bit. Since 2017, Castellanos has primarily played right field. According to Fangraphs, he has posted a minus-48 in defensive runs saved in his time playing the outfield. At third base, where he played earlier in his career, he has posted a minus-45 DRS.
Castellanos says he’ll play wherever they’ll ask him to play. His main priority is to win, something he says has been missing from his big-league career.
“I’ve played over 1,000 big-league games and I have zero playoff wins,” Castellanos said. “So cool, I’ve made money, I’ve hit homers, I’ve played on TV, but I haven’t won no games that matter. I would like to do that.”
Castellanos’ agent, Scott Boras, said that after the Phillies signed Kyle Schwarber, it was clear that they weren’t going to stop making moves. His pitch to Phillies owner John Middleton and Dombrowski was succinct.
”Well, you always go to them and say, nice cake,” Boras said. “Now here’s the frosting.”
Long is happy Middleton invested in that frosting.
”There is a toughness and a grit to both of them that I feel like every team could use,” Long said. “There’s not a team in baseball that couldn’t use Kyle Schwarber. There’s not a team in baseball that couldn’t use Nick Castellanos. And we’ve got both of them.”
