Outfielder Nick Castellanos has signed with the San Diego Padres for the 2026 season, in which he’ll earn the league minimum from San Diego, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman also adds how the Phillies will still be paying Castellanos the 20 million remaining on his contract this season from the five-year, $100 million deal he signed with Philadelphia back in March of 2022.
The league minimum MLB salary in 2026 is $780,000, according to Spotrac. The Phillies released Castellanos (age 33) on Thursday, February 12th, due to conflicts regarding his performance and attitude in the clubhouse and with the Phillies coaching staff.
Castellanos Issues Inside The Phillies Organization
This dates back to an incident on June 16th, 2025, in which the Phillies were in Miami playing the Marlins. Phillies Manager Rob Thomson benched Castellanos in the 8th inning, which Thomson after the game said Castellas stated an “inappropriate comment”, but we later came to find out in a letter released by Nick Castellanos at the time of his release, stating that after the benching, Castellanos brought an alcoholic beverage into the clubhouse, and also conveyed his frustrations to Rob Thomson and other members of the Phillies coaching staff.
Aside from Castellano’s feud with the coaching staff and his attitude/behavior in the Phillies locker room, he also saw significant regression in his on-field performance. Castellanos posted a -0.8 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) with 17 home runs and a .694 OPS in 147 games last season. Castellanos, a corner outfielder, also struggled in right field and posted a -12 OAA (outs above average), ranking in the bottom 1st percentile, according to Baseball Savant.
Castellanos Has Regressed Offensively and Defensively
Looking at his other underlying metrics in 2025, Castellanos didn’t have a good average exit velocity (87.8mph) or a hard-hit percentage in the 18th percentile (34.5%), placing him in the 16th percentile, according to Baseball Savant.
What’s essentially going on here is an aging player who’s lost bat speed, isn’t hitting the ball very hard, has regressed defensively, and hasn’t been getting along with several members inside the Phillies organization.
From the Padres’ perspective, they signed him for league minimum and plan on having him rotate between DH, first base, and some outfield, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
The Padres are hoping that a change of scenery for the veteran Castellanos can spark lightning in a bottle and give them a serviceable power bat in the middle of their lineup for the 2026 season. And if that isn’t the case, then the Padres move on during the season. But to pay league minimum for a player of Castellanos’ caliber, who, yes, has had regression, but you’re thinking maybe has a chance to bounce back, is a chance San Diego is willing to risk, given there is no risk really attached with such a small financial commitment to him.
And for Castellanos, it’s a fresh start with an organization that won 90 games last year and is likely to remain competitive in the foreseeable future as we steadily approach the 2026 season. For Nick and the Padres, this may be what both sides need: a change of scenery and a fresh start out in Southern California.
Former Phillies Outfielder Nick Castellanos Signs With Padres