Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos (8) looks on from the dugout during game three of the NLDS of the 2025 MLB playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
It's all but certain Nick Castellanos will play for a team not named the Philadelphia Phillies in 2026. But might he play another position that isn't in the outfield?
And no, we're not counting designated hitter as a position.
Castellanos went on the MLB Network's Hot Stove Friday morning and was being interviewed by Matt Vasgersian and Yonder Alonso, and talked about the possibility of playing first base.
Nick Castellanos on the idea of playing first base:
"It was brought up to me and honestly, it's something that I really welcome... if somebody needs me to do that." pic.twitter.com/sikqEtQbTj
"It was brought up to me, and honestly, it's something that I really welcome," Castellanos said.
Yeah, that came out of left right field.
"Just as I get older and now outfielders are really graded on, you know, pure athleticism - like how much ground they can cover," he said. "Like the spectacular play like (Pete) Crow-Armstrong. I think that going to first base is something that I can do and would enjoy, absolutely, if a team, or somebody, needs me to do that.
"I mean, if there's one thing I can say is I'm not bad in the outfield because I can't catch a ball, you know? No one ever says that I can't catch a ball that I get to, right?"
There's a lot to unpack here. Let's work backwards, because I find that last part of the answer far more fascinating than the notion of Castellanos playing first base, to be honest.
This answer should make it crystal clear that Castellanos never understood - nor seemingly cared to understand - defensive metrics in baseball.
Yes, playing the outfield is about range and route running more than it is about actually, you know, catching the ball. If you're a Major League baseball player it is assumed that you will catch 99 balls out of 100 that are hit or thrown to you assuming you are in a position to catch it. If you couldn't do that, you wouldn't be a position player at that level.
But there's a lot of grass or turf to cover in Major League ballparks, and those that can do it well, while taking the best routes in the process, will be the guys that are most coveted for those positions.
Those that can't? Well, according to Fangraphs they're the ones that finish seventh-worst out of all qualified position players in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-11), third-worst in Outs Above Average (and worst in the outfield at minus-12), second worst in Fielding Run Value (minus-12), and third-worst in overall defensive rating (-15.8) behind a couple of Mets (Pete Alonso and Juan Soto).
“Nick Castellanos isn’t that bad at defense! He never makes errors!!” pic.twitter.com/WFfBYBP6kU
So, it's no wonder Castellanos is willing to move to another position - he wants a job and right field isn't really a spot he can play with regularity anymore with success.
And where did this first base thing come from, anyway?
It seemed like a planted question from Yonder Alonso, who was cringeworthy in the way he interviewed Castellanos throughout the entire segment, which you can watch in its entirety here, just prepare yourself for the cringe.
The guess is that after hiring an agent again, Castellanos has come to the realization that by offering himself as an option to teams for other positions that it might stir up some more interest.
So, he has his buddy and former teammate lob him that softball to get that out into the ether.
Hey, whatever works.
One more wild thing that came from this interview was the fact that Castellanos started working on his hitting six weeks earlier than usual this offseason, but not because he's looking to improve from where he was a season ago, although that could be a welcome byproduct for him, but rather because he wants to cash in on a $500,000 bet about his batting stance.
I kid you not.
"I kind of wanted to simplify my stance a little bit," Castellanos said. "I also wanted to just make sure that I have something that I can repeat every day, because I'll get caught up on changing my field.
"A friend of mine, I think he's now with Legacy Sports, for the agency, his name is Jose Brizuela, casually bet me half a million dollars that I can't keep the same batting stance for a full season. So I said, 'All right. Bet. I take that bet.' That's kind of where I'm at."
So to recap. Castellanos catches the balls he can get to, so everyone should just be happy about that. He now would welcome moving to first base, a position he's never played, and he's betting a cool half a mil that he can remain committed to one batting stance for 162 games.
I'll take things I never thought I'd write about in the month of December for 2,000, Ken.
