Phillies Cut Ties with Nick Castellanos, Eat $20 Million in Final Contract Year
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Philadelphia Phillies have officially released outfielder Nick Castellanos, ending a tumultuous tenure and absorbing a $20 million financial hit just days before the full squad was set to report for spring training. The organization announced the move on Thursday, confirming that they were unable to find a trade partner for the 33-year-old veteran entering the final season of his five-year, $100 million deal.
The decision comes after an offseason rife with speculation and internal friction. Despite fervent attempts by President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski to offload the contract, the market for Castellanos had evaporated following a 2025 campaign that saw him post a career-worst negative-1.0 WAR and a .694 OPS. With no suitors willing to take on even a fraction of the remaining salary, the Phillies chose to designate him for assignment rather than bring him back to a clubhouse where his presence had become increasingly awkward.
Reports from the team’s complex in Clearwater indicate the writing was on the wall earlier this week. Castellanos’ locker had already been cleared out, and his nameplate removed, effectively erasing him from the roster before the transaction was official. The organization had reportedly instructed him not to report to camp, signaling a definitive end to a relationship that soured significantly over the last year. Tensions boiled over publicly last season, highlighted by a heated exchange with manager Rob Thomson in June that led to a benching, and comments in September where Castellanos criticized the staff’s communication.
While the move clears a roster spot for younger talent and the newly signed Adolis García, it has sparked debate regarding the organization’s financial management and treatment of veteran players. Critics argue that eating $20 million for a player who was an All-Star just two seasons ago is a mismanagement of resources that could have been allocated to the bullpen or depth pieces. Furthermore, the unceremonious nature of his exit—stripping his locker and effectively barring him from the facility—has been viewed by some observers as lacking the grace typically afforded to a player who was central to the team’s deep playoff runs in 2022 and 2023.
Castellanos leaves Philadelphia with a complicated legacy. He was a hero of the 2023 postseason, famously hitting four home runs in the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, a performance that cemented his place in franchise lore. However, his defensive struggles in right field—where he consistently graded as one of the league’s lowest-rated defenders—and his sharp offensive decline in 2025 ultimately made him expendable. With García now set to take over right field on a one-year, $10 million deal, the Phillies are betting that a defensive upgrade and a fresh clubhouse dynamic will outweigh the steep cost of paying Castellanos to play elsewhere.
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