“Not talking sh*t or anything” - Phillies’ Nick Castellanos throws shade at Mets’ Juan Soto’s $765M contract after playoff collapse

The Philadelphia Phillies will square off against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series. While the Dodgers are headed to the NLDS after sweeping the Cincinnati Reds in the wild card series, the Phillies received a bye after winning the NL East.

The Phillies' route to the postseason was smoother than expected thanks to the New York Mets' collapse in the second half of the season. Ahead of the Phillies' clash against the Dodgers, Nick Castellanos threw shade at Mets' $765 million superstar Juan Soto.

“You’re always a little bit surprised when a team goes out and spends $765 million on one player and doesn’t make the playoffs,” Castellanos said. “Am I surprised? I don’t know, because baseball is very hard. Not talking s**t or anything, but when an acquisition like that is made, a team does better than when they did in the past.”

The Mets went 38-55 in the last three and a half months of the season and finished 7-14 in their final 21 games. Despite their slump, the Mets had a chance to clinch a playoff spot on the final day of rthe egular season. However, a 4-0 loss against the Miami Marlins ended their postseason hopes.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash