Nick Castellanos’ wild week seems to have landed him on his feet — on the other side of the country.
On Thursday, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that Castellanos, the two-time All-Star outfielder who was entering the final year of a $100 million contract, was being released. At the same time, Castellanos discussed his side of the “Miami incident,” writing a note on his Instagram page in which he admitted to bringing a beer into the dugout at loanDepot Park in the middle of a game.
It has been a messy week for the Phillies and Castellanos, but with spring training underway, the latter had to quickly move on. And on Saturday, he reportedly inked a one-year, $780,000 guaranteed deal with the San Diego Padres.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report that a deal was close between the two sides. Heyman then followed up by reporting that the Padres would pay the league minimum for Castellanos, leaving the Phillies on the hook for the additional $19.12 million he was owed at the start of the season.
In four seasons with the Phillies, Castellanos made an All-Star team, hit 82 home runs, and provided some memorable postseason swings, including a two-homer game against the rival Atlanta Braves. He also ended up with a league-average OPS+ of exactly 100, tailing off sharply both on offense and defense last year.
Whether he sees significant time in the outfield or is mostly limited to designated hitter duties, Castellanos will have to prove in his age-34 season that last year’s rough second half was a blip on the radar, and that he’s not the distraction in the clubhouse that some seem to think.
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