Yet another offseason blunder has been made by the Philadelphia Phillies.
This afternoon, the Baltimore Orioles claimed Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Weston Wilson off waivers. This move is not a significant one, considering Wilson was going to be battling for a roster spot in Spring Training.
At best, the veteran outfielder was a serviceable utility player. One that the team could rely on in a pinch to get them from game to game during the course of the regular season.
The reason for Wilson’s exit from the team stems from their 40-man roster. With the signing of J.T. Realmuto, the club needed to make room for him to officially rejoin the club. With the 40-man roster maxed out at 40 players, Wilson was deemed expendable by the team.
Perhaps the Phillies front office felt the 31-year-old would escape waivers, allowing them to send him back to Triple-A ahead of the 2026 season.
There is no secret about how the Phillies view Nick Castellanos at this stage.
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski has been very upfront with the media about the team’s intentions with their veteran right fielder.
Dombrowski commented, “Yes, we do. We still plan on doing that,” when asked if the team still expected to give Castellanos a change of scenery.
Instead of finally cutting ties with him, the Phillies opted to risk losing a player they could have used in 2026. Had the team waived Castellanos to make room for Realmuto, they would have saved themselves from losing Wilson.
Instead, the team would rather continue to hold out hope that another franchise will come calling for Casty. With him set to make $20 million in 2026, the front office has been trying to find a buyer who is willing to take on any amount of that salary. If the team cannot find a trade partner, they will be on the hook for that entire amount, regardless of whether they keep him or not.
At this stage, it would have to be a miracle for another team to trade for Castellanos and his contract. After being released, I would expect there to be a small market of teams interested in giving the 2023 All-Star a one-year contract to re-establish his value.
The team has already committed to moving on. They might as well follow through on their decision. Weston Wilson would still be a Phillie if the organization had finally stopped playing games with Castellanos.
You may be asking yourself, why is this such a big deal? Or even, why was this worth an article?
Is this move going to make or break their season in 2026? That answer is no.
However, this is a minor detail that smart front offices seldom overlook. Rather than focusing on fielding their best unit in 2026, the team is worried more about their current financial situation.
Was the potential for minor payroll relief really worth losing a quality backup option?
