Two days after he was released by the Philadelphia Phillies, free agent outfielder Nick Castellanos has agreed to a deal with the San Diego Padres, a source confirmed to ESPN.
The Padres will pay Castellanos the veterans minimum of $780,000, while the Phillies, who owed him $20 million at the time of his release, will pick up the balance of his salary for the 2026 season.
Castellanos has spent a lot of time this offseason working out at first base and will probably see time there in San Diego.
The New York Post was first to report news of the deal.
Castellanos, 33, was benched last season after he made what Phillies manager Rob Thomson described as “an inappropriate comment” after he was pulled for a defensive replacement in Miami. Castellanos said in September that communication with Thomson had been “questionable, at least in my experience.”
On Thursday, Castellanos posted a handwritten note on social media explaining the incident that preceded his benching. He said he brought beer into the dugout after being taken out of a game and complained to Thomson about team rules. He said teammates took the beer away before he drank any.
“After being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family, I brought a Presidente into the dugout,” Castellanos wrote. “I then sat right next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others was not conducive to us winning.”
Afterward, he went into the office with Thomson and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.
“We aired out our differences and the conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me,” Castellanos said, adding that he was benched the next game as punishment.
The Phillies wanted to resolve the situation before full-squad workouts begin Monday. After failing to find a trade partner, Philadelphia chose to release the veteran outfielder instead.
Castellanos hit .250 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs in 147 games for the National League East champions last year.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
