Nick Castellanos ships out west, Phillies still on hook originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
On Saturday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that Nick Castellanos signed a one-year agreement with the San Diego Padres.
It’s on the Major League minimum. The Padres will pay $780,000, while the remaining $19.22 million stays on the Phillies’ books. Philadelphia will save just over $1.6 million with the 110% luxury tax penalty.
Castellanos’ departure from Philadelphia felt inevitable for months, but the landing spot adds an interesting wrinkle. Earlier this offseason, he went on MLB Network and expressed interest in learning first base, a move that would expand the number of teams that could carry him without asking him to play the outfield every day.
That’s the idea in San Diego.
Even with a down 2025 overall, Castellanos still brings a clear skill: he has a career .853 OPS against left-handed pitching. That matters for a Padres lineup that’s set to start left-handed hitting Gavin Sheets at first base. Sheets hit a career-high 19 home runs last season, but only two came against southpaws, and he posted a .669 OPS in those matchups.
The way the roster fits suggests Castellanos won’t be an everyday player on Opening Day. A component of last season that certainly did not make the former Silver Slugger satisfied.
It looks more like a platoon role, with some first base mixed in, designated hitter reps, and minimal time in right field — especially assuming the health of Rawlings Platinum Glove winner Fernando Tatis Jr.
And defensively, the contrast is sharp. Castellanos’ Outs Above Average, which measures range, sat at -12 last season. Tatis posted 8 OAA.
Castellanos has found a new home, but he hasn’t hit much at Petco Park. In 28 career games, including the postseason, he owns a .222/.257/.352 slash line (.608 OPS).
If anyone in Philadelphia is circling a date, the wait won’t be long. The Padres open a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park on June 2.
That series will be the first real moment for the fan base to decide what the Castellanos era was. Some will remember the October swings, especially the 2023 NLCS. Others will focus on how the ending played out.
Either way, the beer, the letter and the clubhouse issues are part of the past now. The saga is over. The bill, for now, isn’t.