Phillies' Updated Starting Lineup, Payroll After Nick Castellanos Contract

The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly continued to upgrade their lineup Friday night by signing All-Star outfielder Nick Castellanos.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported it's a five-year, $100 million contract, which brings the club's estimated payroll for 2022 to $234 million, per FanGraphs.

Here's a look at how Philly's batting order could shape up with the 30-year-old slugger included:

• Kyle Schwarber (DH)
• Nick Castellanos (LF)
• Bryce Harper (RF)
• Rhys Hoskins (1B)
• J.T. Realmuto (C)
• Didi Gregorius (SS)
• Jean Segura (2B)
• Alec Bohm (3B)
• Odubel Herrera (CF)

The Phillies are trying to keep pace with the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves and the big-spending New York Mets in the NL East.

Adding Schwarber and Castellanos provided some much-needed on-base ability atop the lineup, and the club also picked up Corey Knebel, Brad Hand and Jeurys Familia in free agency to help overhaul its much-maligned bullpen.

Castellanos is coming off a terrific 2021 season with the Cincinnati Reds. He earned his first All-Star appearance while posting a .309/.362/.576 slash line with 34 home runs in 138 games. His .939 OPS ranked seventh among qualified MLB hitters, and he rated fifth among right fielders in WAR (4.2), according to FanGraphs.

There are a couple of concerns as he arrives to Philadelphia, though.

Most notably, his offensive numbers last year were inflated by playing his home games in the bandbox known as Great American Ball Park. His OPS was 337 points higher at home (1.109) than on the road (.772), and 23 of his homers came at GABP.

The silver lining in that regard is that the Phillies' Citizens Bank Park was the sixth-most hitter-friendly park in MLB last year, three spots behind the Reds' home, per Baseball Savant.

Castellanos' other issue is defense. His career mark in defensive runs saved is negative-93, with a minus-48 mark in the outfield and a minus-45 mark at third base, via FanGraphs.

Schwarber is also a lackluster defender, however, so having the designated hitter in the NL this season doesn't totally save Philly.

That said, the benefit to the Phillies offense, which ranked 13th in runs scored last year, should outweigh having one of them in the outfield every game.

Philadelphia and its newest arrivals will open the regular season with a three-game home series against Oakland Athletics beginning April 8.