The Philadelphia Phillies have squandered their chances at a World Series ring in the past three years in the postseason. They have the third-highest payroll in baseball, are getting older by the day, and have decided to essentially run it back with the same guys without any significant offensive signings. Yet, Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos believes there is less pressure on the team this season.
Nick Castellanos says the Phillies are enjoying the reduced pressure this season
Castellanos spoke with the media on Sunday morning at BayCare Ballpark, crediting the reporters on the scene for the reduced pressure that Philadelphia is facing entering this season:
“I do think we have less pressure as a team this year, especially with everything the media said about us when we lost last year and we didn’t really go out and make any crazy changes,” Castellanos said per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “So if we lose, you guys look smart, which is dope. Right? But then if we win, it’s like a happy surprise. So it’s kind of a freeing place to play baseball, know what I mean?”
Castellanos never shies away from speaking his mind to the media and, whatever mindset helps him perform to the best of his abilities, I want him to have that. Make no mistake, though, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on this Phillies team to win a ring.
The city of Philadelphia is coming off of one of the greatest Eagles seasons in its illustrious history and expectations are high for their baseball team who has been knocking on the door of a World Series win for the last three seasons.
There is still pressure on the Phillies to compete this season
Fans can argue whether the Phillies winning window is closing or not but the fact remains, Schwarber, Realmuto, and Suarez are all in a contract year and are not guaranteed to be back, Suarez being the most likely to sign somewhere else.
On the flip side, the Phillies do have young studs on the way up to the big leagues with Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford, and Aiden Miller. The Braves will be healthier this year, the Mets landed prized free-agent Juan Soto and re-signed their longtime first baseman, Pete Alonso. The NL East is only getting better and better each year. If you’re not feeling the pressure now, when will you?
- Phillies new star slugger off to red hot start to tenure in Philadelphia
- Phillies’ emerging All-Star hurler flexes muscle in win over Rockies
- Phillies dominate in 11-6 win over Nationals
Do the Phillies have more pressure than ever?
Castellanos is free to feel however he wants to but after three years of getting to the World Series, NLCS, and the NLDS and not bringing a championship to Philadelphia, I’d argue that there is more pressure now than ever.
The starting staff have been horses for the Phillies, Nola has only missed a few starts since 2017 and Zack Wheeler is coming off a season where he finished second in Cy Young voting. They’ve been very fortunate that they have stayed relatively healthy over the past few years but with this aging roster, that’s not guaranteed to happen every year.
“I don’t know if we’re going to go deep in October,” Castellanos said. “I don’t know any of that. All I know is we need to stay healthy, prepare in Spring Training and get ready for the season. That’s so far down the road.”
I love Nick Castellanos’s attitude and his approach to the game. October is very far down the road but I promise you, when it does get here, there will be an entire city with expectations for this Phillies team to finish the story and bring a parade to Broad Street.
