Philadelphia Phillies interested in former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder

Just days after the Phillies put their hat in the ring for Bo Bichette, their showing interest in another former Blue Jay.

According to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, Randal Grichuk is one specific name the Phillies are showing interest in for their 4th outfielder.

Grichuk signed a $2MM deal with the Diamondbacks going into 2024 and provided excellent return on that modest investment.

He was sent to the plate 279 times and slashed .291/.348/.528 for a 139 wRC+. That included a .319/.386/.528 line and 152 wRC+ against lefties.

Despite that solid season, Grichuk's earning power didn't improve greatly. He returned to the Snakes for 2025 with a $5MM guarantee.

He wasn't able to produce in quite the same way, as he slashed .228/.273/.401 for the year, getting flipped to the Royals at the deadline.

His numbers were better against lefties last year but still not great, as he hit .227/.273/.430 for an 89 wRC+ in the split.

As an interesting sidenote, Grichuk and Castellanos actually have somewhat comparable profiles right now.

Castellanos also didn't have a great 2025 season but hit .269/.324/.506 against lefties in 2024, production that translated to a 124 wRC+.

Each player is going into his age-34 season.

Perhaps it speaks to the poor relationship between Castellanos and manager Rob Thomson, who have publicly clashed a few times, that the Phillies are seemingly plotting to get rid of Castellanos and replace him with a comparable player while potentially eating millions of dollars in the process.

Castellanos was benched in June for some kind of inappropriate comment made to the skipper, per ESPN.

Castellanos also publicly criticized Thomson for his communication skills. The Phillies signed Thomson to an extension last month.

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