Nick Castellanos' tenure with the Phillies is over.
The Phillies announced Thursday afternoon that they've released Castellanos, leaving them with a sunk cost of $20 million for the final season of his five-year/$100 million contract.
This isn't a surprising development, as the Phillies had signaled all offseason that Castellanos would not return to the team in 2026. Monday, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested that the Phillies were hoping to find a resolution for Castellanos this week. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported Wednesday that the Phillies had asked Castellanos not to report to Spring Training.
It's unclear exactly what Castellanos, who will turn 34 in March, has remaining. While he did post an .839 OPS in the second half of the 2024 season, he's coming off of a poor 2025 campaign, one in which he posted just a .694 OPS. Couple that with poor defensive metrics in right field and Castellanos finished with a minus-0.6 WAR, which FanGraphs says was the worst mark among all qualified position players.
Still, the biggest reason that the Phillies are going to pay Castellanos $20 million not to play for them this season is likely the falling out he had publicly with the organization — specifically manager Rob Thomson — on multiple occasions last season.
Castellanos was benched for what manager Rob Thomson deemed an "inappropriate comment" last June. Castellanos was upset that Thomson pulled him in favor of a defensive replacement. For what it's worth, Castellanos finished the season with minus-11 defensive runs saved and minus-12 outs above average in right field.
Another notable moment involving Castellanos came during a September series in Arizona when he spoke after a win about his relationship, or lack thereof, with Thomson. (You can read the full transcript here.)
Nick Castellanos was asked if he understands why he hasn’t played as often.
“I don’t really talk to Rob all that often … Communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience.”
(via @GraceDelPizzo) pic.twitter.com/ucqEiWadSL
— OnPattison (@OnPattison) September 20, 2025
Nick Castellanos, on Rob Thomson’s communication:
“There’s just been times where things have been said, and then over the course of years I’ll have expectations … and actions would be different.”
(via @GraceDelPizzo) pic.twitter.com/4x4KXUALTc
Castellanos was noncommittal when asked by OnPattison about his future with the team following the Phillies being eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers last October.
"I think that right now, where I'm at is, I'm going to get some imaging on my knee, rest, then clean that up and see where we're at and then just go from there," Castellanos said. "So, first things first."
Dombrowski was similarly noncommittal about Castellanos' future in his year-end press conference, which made it pretty clear what direction this was headed.
"Well, we'll see what happens," Dombrowski said. "I don't know. I'm not going to get into specific players that are on our roster under contract. But, the things that you talked about are accurate. But, we'll see what happens."
When asked by @TimKellySports about Nick Castellanos’ future with the Phillies, Dave Dombrowski was noncommittal.
(via @GraceDelPizzo) pic.twitter.com/0PMieK6NMq
The Phillies held onto Castellanos long enough to make clear that there wasn't going to be a trade fit for him, and it was clear there wasn't a path to turning back and having him return in 2026.
Castellanos' four seasons with the Phillies featured some incredible highs, such as him becoming the first player in MLB history with back-to-back multi-homer games in the postseason. He clubbed four homers in a two-game span to help the Phillies to upset the Atlanta Braves in the 2023 NLDS.
Ultimately, though, it's hard not to feel like Castellanos' tenure in Philadelphia was disappointing. The Phillies, perhaps foolishly, gave him a $100 million contract based on him hitting .309 with a .939 OPS for the Cincinnati Reds in 2021. In four seasons with the Phillies, Castellanos hit .260 with a .732 OPS. And now, the Phillies are paying him $20 million not to play for them in the final year of that contract, a sign that there's enough bad blood that it's going to take a while if this relationship is ever going to be repaired.
