The Phillies took a modest swing last offseason, bringing in a former ALCS MVP on a one-year deal and hoping the fit would be cleaner than what they had before. Instead, the move unraveled quickly, and by the time Adolis Garcia’s season ended after just 67 games, the contract had already taken on the look of a miss.
Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer went so far as to label Garcia the Phillies’ worst player in 2026, even with the right-handed hitter not having played since June. The one-year, $10 million arrangement was supposed to help Philadelphia move on from Nick Castellanos before he was even off the roster, with Garcia penciled in for right field, the job that normally belonged to Castellanos.
"Speaking of palace intrigue, the Phillies' one-year, $10 million deal with García was meant to help them forget about Nick Castellanos before he was even off the roster," Rymer wrote. "They planned to slot García into right field, a spot normally reserved for Castellanos."
Instead, Garcia finished with a career-worst -0.9 bWAR, along with seven home runs and a .599 OPS. His other offensive numbers did little to soften the blow.
"Not that Castellanos did any better (he was actually worse) following his eventual release, but to call García a bust would be underselling it," Rymer added. "He got 259 plate appearances before season-ending surgery in June. He only managed a 60 OPS+ with an inflated 32.4 K%."
For Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, it’s the kind of signing that would be easy to revisit with a different outcome in mind. Garcia had entered the season as a proven power bat, and Philadelphia was simply trying to get any real upgrade over Castellanos.
That didn’t happen.
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Philadelphias part in that picture is what makes this worth watching. A Phillies win over Milwaukee would knock the Brewers magic number to zero, while an Atlanta loss to Cincinnati would do the same, adding a little extra intrigue to a late-season series that suddenly carries more than just standings value for the home side. If Milwaukee finishes the job, it would guarantee the kind of playoff setup every contender wants, with a bye and the benefit of opening the Division Series at home. [Read more 🡒]
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Phillies Face One October Trust Issue They Cant Ignore
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