Nick Castellanos holds ‘no hard feelings’ toward the Phillies after being released
Castellanos, who signed a one-year deal and moved into a part-time role with the Padres, reflected on his time as a Phillie, including the incident in Miami and his rift with Rob Thomson.
SAN DIEGO — Just over three months ago, Nick Castellanos’ Phillies tenure ended with a handwritten letter on Instagram.
The veteran right fielder was released by the Phillies on Feb. 12, three days before position players were due to report to the spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla. Throughout the offseason, the Phillies’ front office had been upfront about its intention to move on from Castellanos, who had one year remaining on his five-year, $100 million contract but had developed a rift with then-manager Rob Thomson.
Castellanos, addressing the media in the Padres clubhouse Monday ahead of their series opener against his former team, said that he had “no hard feelings” for what transpired.
“They’re an organization that’s doing what they feel like is necessary for them to win, and they’re making decisions, and that led me to San Diego,” Castellanos said. “Which, I’m enjoying myself, and I’m getting to be teammates with new guys. Everything happens for a reason.”
» READ MORE: Andrew Painter looked ‘as good as I’ve seen him’ in the longest start of his career
When his release was official, Castellanos posted a letter on social media thanking select members of the Phillies organization, and addressing what he called “The Miami Incident.” Castellanos described taking a beer into the dugout after being lifted for a defensive substitution in a game against the Marlins in June.
As punishment, Thomson benched him for the next game, ending a 236-game iron man streak.
“I think that I just had a lot of pent-up emotion and frustration that all came out pretty colorfully in the moment,” Castellanos said of the Miami situation on Monday. “Obviously not ideal, but everything that I said was 100% genuine.
“How did I learn from it? Well, if I feel something that upsets me or doesn’t sit right, I’m doing better at just saying it, immediately then. Because things are always easier to handle one step at a time, instead of having to run and jump over a whole staircase, because all of these things have compiled. That’s where I feel like I can be better.”
Shortly after getting released, Castellanos signed a one-year deal with the Padres for the league minimum, with the Phillies covering the remainder of his $20 million salary. He has a .190 batting average and a .578 OPS.
Castellanos’ replacement in right field, Adolis García, is hitting .203 with a .607 OPS, but his defense has been a marked improvement. While Castellanos has posted a minus-4 outs above average for the Padres, García has a plus-3 marker with the Phillies.
With the Padres, Castellanos is no longer an everyday player, though he has been seeing more action lately with Jake Cronenworth on the injured list and Fernando Tatis Jr. playing more second base. Castellanos has started 29 of the Padres’ 53 games this season, including Monday’s series opener against Jesús Luzardo. He started in right field and batted sixth in the order.
A reduction in his role was a main reason behind the rift between Castellanos and Thomson last season. By the end of the 2025 season, he was moved to a platoon in the outfield.
Castellanos said “communication” is the main difference that has allowed him to adjust to a part-time role in San Diego, compared to last year. He didn’t elaborate when asked for specific differences in communication between the organizations.
“I think that you can fill in the blanks on that,” he said.
» READ MORE: Don Mattingly isn’t considering dropping Trea Turner in the Phillies’ lineup: ‘I think we count on Trea being Trea’
He added he would have been willing to accept a similar role in Philadelphia this season if asked. Despite the Phillies’ stated intention to find a change of scenery for him, he was intending to report to spring training but was told not to.
“Am I going to just sit here and start thinking about a bunch of stuff and be playing that judge and jury? I could do that, but that’s not going to help anybody or make any situation better,” Castellanos said. “They handled it the way that they handled it, and, obviously, it led to me being in a tough spot again, not really knowing what was up. But at the end of the day, I’m here. I’m in this clubhouse, and the staff is great.”
Castellanos caught up with some former teammates in the Petco Park outfield ahead of Monday’s series opener. He is set to return to Philadelphia for the first time with the Padres next week, after the Phillies return from their current West Coast road trip.
“Great, man, it was a lot of winning,” Castellanos said of his time as a Phillie. “Obviously, we fell short of winning the World Series, which is the ultimate goal. But I mean, four straight trips to the postseason, deep into the postseason, lot of memorable moments, a lot of sad moments.
“But it’s going to be a part of my life that I remember forever.”
Extra bases
J.T. Realmuto was out of Monday’s lineup for a scheduled day off. Rafael Marchán started in his place. ... Aaron Nola (2-4, 6.04 ERA) is scheduled to start against Padres righty Randy Vásquez (5-2, 2.96) on Tuesday.
As the Phillies continue to seek more production out of the cleanup spot, Rhys Hoskins is coming back to town this weekend with the Cleveland Guardians. Hoskins sat down with "Phillies Extra," The Inquirer's baseball podcast, to discuss his role with the first-place Guardians, his legacy with the Phillies, and more. Watch here.
You can also subscribe to the podcast version of Phillies Extra on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Previous episodes: Terry Francona | Aaron Rowand | Hunter Pence | Paco Figueroa | Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs