Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber / Nick Castellanos signings made possible courtesy of the DH in the National League.

When Nick Castellanos was a Detroit Tiger a few years ago there was talk of trading him to a playoff contender. Allegedly the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) were considered interested in Castellanos.   

My memory of Castellanos back then was he was a poor defensive outfielder and any marginal advantage he would provide offensively would be offset by poor fielding and limited defensive range in right field.

What was even more troubling was the Tigers had offered Castellanos a chance to play first base, a position Castellanos could probably handle effectively, and Castellanos refused.

To Castellanos's credit he has improved his outfield defense from a few years back while his offense has improved by an even more remarkable amount.

However, the DH being added to the National League basically makes the Castellanos signing of 5 years for 100 million dollars somewhat of a no brainer for the Philadelphia Phillies. Should Castellanos falter or start to diminish on the defensive side of the field, the Phillies now have the DH where Castellanos can still flourish.

Not only is 20 million dollars a year an interesting number for both sides, the DH probably allowed Philadelphia to agree to a five year deal. If there was no DH in the National League, I wonder if Philadelphia would have gone more than 3 years.

Having just turned 30 during 2022 spring training, and having had his best offensive year last season, the Castellanos signing by Philadelphia most likely pleases Bryce Howard, who had asked for another big bat in the line-up and the Phillies complied by getting both Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos

However there is a DH X-Factor to consider. Bryce Harper has been known to rough himself up playing defense and having the DH available allows Howard to both heal and still DH, a situation that most likely will come up in 2022. Can Philly remain competitive with both Schwarber and Castellanos playing in the field at the same time whenever another player needs a defensive day off by hitting DH?

The Revenge of the DH occurs when average to below average defenders end up playing the field so other regulars can have a defensive day off at DH, the result being that the regular DH has to play the field and doesn't make plays better defenders would make, thus extending the inning and the pitcher's pitch count. It is this DH X factor which could prove meddlesome for the Philadelphia Phillies in the coming years since both Schwarber's and Castellanos's best position may be DH.

Los Angeles Emmy winning Producer Alessandro Machi combines his editing, camera and observational skills to provide unique insights into the World of Sports.