Former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos will be looking for a new team.
The Phillies signed Castellanos to a five-year, $100 million contract in 2022, but the end of the deal didn’t pan out. Philadelphia ended up releasing him after failing to find a trade for him. By releasing him, the Phillies still owed Castellanos $20 million for the 2026 season.
After his release, Castellanos signed a one-year, $780,000 deal with the San Diego Padres. San Diego planned to use him at first base, but he struggled. Now, the Padres revealed on June 3 that they have DFA’d him.
“We have designated 1B/OF Nick Castellanos for assignment and selected the contract of INF/OF Samad Taylor from Triple-A El Paso. Taylor will wear No. 0,” the Padres wrote on X.
Castellanos hit .191 with 4 home runs and 20 RBIs with the Padres this season.
Castellanos Reflects on Phillies Exit
Philadelphia was looking to trade Castellanos this offseason, which he wasn’t surprised by.
Castellanos and the Phillies didn’t see eye-to-eye to end his tenure. Ahead of the Padres series against the Phillies, he reflected on the exit and said his phone was on and ready for a conversation with the team, but that didn’t happen.
“My phone was on,” Castellanos said ahead of the Phillies’ 3-2 win Tuesday night. “All they needed was a conversation like, this is going to be your role. Apparently, they thought it was just best for the organization that my personality wasn’t in the clubhouse.”
Although the ending wasn’t a good one for Castellanos, he was happy with his time in Philadelphia and how he stayed true to himself.
“I had a good four years here,” Castellanos said. …Any time I run into anybody that’s a Phillies fan, away from cameras, away from the field, I get nothing but a lot of love and positivity. I appreciate that. I spoke my mind, I went about my business, I played every day, I never really hid on the IL. I really wanted to win a ring.
“Did I do everything 100 percent correct? Probably not. Did I act true to my heart and how I felt in the moment? 100 percent.”
Castellanos hit .260 with 82 home runs and 326 RBIs in his four years with the Phillies.
Philadelphia Felt a Change of Scenery Was Necessary
After the Phillies lost in the playoffs and Castellanos’ role with the team changed, the team felt a change of scenery was necessary.
“I think that we all felt that was probably in the best interest, to have a change of scenery,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said back in February. …
“A lot of times when a good player has their role change with the club, it can cause some friction,” Dombrowski said. “And his role changed last year from where it was. I mean, he played every single day for a lot of years in a row. So sometimes that can contribute to it. Sometimes, then people have debates between themselves where they’re not all on the same page. But when you put all that together, sometimes you just need to make sure that you have a change of scenery.”
Castellanos is a two-time All-Star.
Former Phillies $100M Outfielder DFA’d by NL Club