The Philadelphia Phillies landed two of the biggest free-agent hitters this offseason by signing Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. Both of them can rake, which should reduce the immense workload off of Reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper.
There is one major issue when it comes to the Phillies signing them both: their defense. Both Schwarber and Castellanos are among the worst defenders in all of MLB in recent memory, ranking near the very bottom of the outs above average leaderboard since 2018. Neither is equipped to be an everyday outfielder, so manager Joe Girardi will either have to get very creative or sacrifice defense.
According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the Phillies intend to use Schwarber in left field and Castellanos may see more time in the designated hitter spot. Since Schwarber is much more accustomed to playing there, it makes sense. The Phillies could also have them rotate between LF and DH.
The Phillies announced Kyle Schwarber as an outfielder and there are some inklings that Schwarber could see more time in LF than Nick Castellanos, who might DH. Castellanos has just 74 career innings in LF. We shall see.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) March 20, 2022
Castellanos hit 34 home runs in 138 games last season while Schwarber hit 32 home runs in 113 games. They both posted an OPS+ of over 130. Harper was the only Phillies player to cross that mark while first baseman Rhys Hoskins posted a mark of 129, which was the only one that was close.
Although the new additions can both hit very well, the Phillies' pitching is not very good outside of Zack Wheeler. They will have to win lots of shootouts in order to make it work.
Harper sounded enthused with how the Phillies filled out their roster. Their hitting should definitely be good, if not great. What remains to be seen is if they can do enough on the other side of the game to snap their decade-long postseason drought.
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