The Philadelphia Phillies have released outfielder Nick Castellanos. This came after a days-long standoff, stemming from the Phillies inability to find a trade partner for Castellanos likely due to his contract. Castellanos is not a bad player, but he is also not worth $20 million per season. Add in the clubhouse cancer narrative he received prior to his release, and it's easy to see why the Phillies had to cut bait with the 33-year-old.
Castellanos thanked Phillies fans and the organization on Thursday. In doing so, he also revealed why he was punished in a game against the Marlins last season. Per Castellanos, he was removed from the game for a defensive replacement in the ninth inning. In defiance, he brought a beer into the dugout (and did not drink it) to get Rob Thomson's attention. Castellanos was suspended for the next game.
Why the Phillies let Nick Castellanos walk
The beer incident couldn't have helped. Castellanos had plenty of fans in the Phillies clubhouse, and was a favorite of the fanbase when healthy. However, he also isn't the hitter he once was – he had just 17 home runs last season – and was a liability defensively, hence why he was removed from right field against the Marlins in the first place.
The Phillies are feature a talented outfield even without Castellanos. That includes former top prospect Justin Crawford, who is favored to make the Opening Day roster. Castellanos is a relic of the past three Phillies postseason teams, all of which failed to make it past the NLCS. Phillies fans called out the front office for essentially 'running it back' this season in spite of those failures. When they suggested change, this might not be what they had in mind. But getting rid of Castellanos' contract, even at this point in the offseason, could create room for another addition by the MLB trade deadline.
Where will Nick Castellanos sign next?
Per Jon Heyman, the favorites to sign Castellanos are the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Athletics, Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds.
Of those teams, I'd consider the Blue Jays favorites due to need alone. Toronto lost outfielder Anthony Santandar to injury, as he's expected to miss 5-6 months after undergoing shoulder surgery.
“He was resting and rehabbing in November and December, then he kind of had a setback when he started ramping up with his hitting earlier in January,” said Blue Jays manager Schneider. “He came over to the complex, got checked out and did everything we could to avoid this. At this point, after what we dealt with last year and in talking with Tony, this is the best possible way to get him back to 100 percent. This is unfortunate timing, obviously.”
Without Santandar and with most accomplished outfielders off the free-agent market, Castellanos would be a natural fit in a lineup that doesn't lack power. Castellanos also mentioned his desire to win at the end of his Phillies goodbye message. Per Heyman's list above, there are no shortage of options, but it's impossible to argue against the Jays, as they were mere outs away from winning the World Series in 2025.