The writing was on the wall for Nick Castellanos — and it came full circle

The writing was on the wall for Nick Castellanos, literally.

As the Phillies’ pitchers and catchers reported to Clearwater, Florida, on Tuesday for Day 1 of Spring Training, Castellanos’ picture on the wall just outside of the team’s clubhouse at BayCare Ballpark had vanished. His locker inside the clubhouse was given to infielder Aidan Miller, the Phillies’ top prospect who could see the majors later this season.

Castellanos was released by the Phillies on Wednesday, marking the end of a turbulent four-year relationship between the player, the organization, and the fanbase.

“To the people of [Philadelphia], thank you for showing up these past 4 years,” Castellanos wrote in a handwritten letter on Instagram. “Applauding or booing you were there. Remember!! The sharp attention and powerful passion you have for your sports teams are not married to the lens of media companies that cover them. The color of your collective soul is your own to paint… together.”

Castellanos was signed to a five-year, $100 million contract just after the lockout in 2022, coming off a career year with the Cincinnati Reds, where he slashed .309/.362/.579 with a .939 OPS, including 34 homers, 38 doubles, and 100 RBI, earning an All-Star selection and a hefty payday. Those numbers never transferred to Philadelphia. After a turbulent start, the 33-year-old never truly found his footing.

Castellanos started his stint with the Phillies as their designated hitter. Kyle Schwarber manned left field, the Phils were banking on Mickey Moniak to recover from a hand fracture suffered at the end of Spring Training, and Bryce Harper was in right before tearing his UCL. Castellanos’ first role change came when he was thrust into right field while struggling at the plate.

The numbers moderately improved, but tension with the organization lingered. The turning point came on June 16 in Miami.

After being taken out of the game for a defensive replacement in his hometown with family and friends in the stands, Castellanos crossed the line. He hollered at Rob Thomson and other coaches while carrying a Presidente beer in the dugout, a violation of MLB rules. Teammates intervened, and it ended with Castellanos being out of the lineup for the first time since September 30, 2023.

“As a veteran of the game of baseball there are rules and I broke one in Miami,” Castellanos wrote. “Sat right next to Rob [Thomson] and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others are not conducive to us winning. Shoutout to my teammates and Howie [Kendrick] for taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip. (I appreciate you guys).”

Castellanos wrote that he was keen to share the details of the incident in its entirety with the media the next day, but was told not to by management. Teammates were reportedly unhappy with how the situation was handled, wanting more discipline to be dealt by Phillies management, rather than just a one-game benching.

“I love this game,” he noted. “I love being a teammate and I am addicted to winning. I will learn from this.”

Castellanos’ unprofessionalism on that Monday night was what put the dagger into his time in Philadelphia.

“A lot of times when a player has their role changed with a club, it can cause some friction,” Dombrowski said on Thursday in Clearwater. “[Castellanos] played every day for a lot of years in a row. And so sometimes that can contribute to it. Sometimes people have debates between themselves where they’re not all on the same page. But when you put all that together, sometimes you just need to make sure you have a change of scenery.”

Castellanos finished 2025 with a .694 OPS and a -0.8 WAR. The season ended in another uncomfortable transition for Castellanos: platooning in right field. The Phillies tried to trade Castellanos for months after publicly stating that the two sides were seeking a change of scenery, but they were unable to find a taker. Now, four days before position players report to their Spring Training, the Phillies will sip down on the $20 million of Castellanos’ salary.

“At some point, you just have to say this isn’t going to work,” Dombrowski said. “Wish [Castellanos] nothing but the best, of course except when he’s playing the Phillies [jokingly].”

Castellanos finished his Phillies tenure with a .732 OPS, including 82 home runs and 326 RBI in 602 games. He had similar issues throughout all four years — discipline, defense, and on-the-field leadership. $75 million later, nothing changed, while still starting almost every game in the middle of the Phillies’ order. Castellanos never added protection to the left-handed hitters in the lineup like he had set out to do, an issue that is still haunting the Phils. It is an issue that has trickled down throughout the lineup and a major nuisance in the postseason.

There were good times, though. He made three heroic sliding grabs in the 2022 postseason, two of them saving games in Atlanta and Houston. He hit five home runs over a three-game span in 2023 between NLDS Games 3-4 and NLCS Game 1, including an electric two-homer game in Game 4 off Spencer Strider at Citizens Bank Park. In Game 2 of the NLDS in 2024, Castellanos went back-to-back with Harper and then delivered the walk-off base hit later that afternoon. Castellanos had a gene for October. Those moments now feel distant.

The last few months were not handled well by the Phillies organization. The team made it extremely evident that they were looking to provide Castellanos with a different home. No team wanted to help them out. The Phillies could have gone about this more tactfully while respecting Castellanos, rather than humiliating the person. However, looking back on Castellanos’ unprofessionalism in the dugout, things do come back around.

From the beginning, when you take a look at how Castellanos’ career began with the Phillies, in many ways, it feels full circle

“Castellanos’ preference, from the beginning of his free agency, was a long-term contract with the Miami Marlins,” Matt Gelb of The Athletic wrote. “Castellanos had directed his agent, Scott Boras, to seek the most money possible — but also to find him a home in a comfortable market… No other team was willing to meet the offer Dombrowski made. In the hours before Castellanos agreed to the deal, league sources said, he implored his agency to find another club that would offer the same terms. But Philadelphia was his best chance to make generational money and play for a winner… In 2024, Castellanos fired Boras. He decided to represent himself for more than a year.”

The writing was on the wall for Castellanos in 2026. It may have been there for the Phillies in 2022, as well. Sometimes, the writing is not subtle.

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