Padres Notes: Nick Castellanos Sends Message to Phillies, Joe Musgrove Progress, Tarik Skubal Trade?

The San Diego Padres lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-0, on Monday and fell to 31-22 on the year.

Right-hander Griffin Canning continued his quest for his first win of 2026 as he struck out five and allowed just three hits across 6.2 innings of work, but of the three hits, two were home runs.

Though Fernando Tatis Jr. continued his home run drought, he has still been contributing with his bat as of late, hitting .417 in his last seven contests. Monday's 2-for-2 day at the plate (with a pair of walks) marked his second consecutive multi-hit game.

Ahead of the eventual defeat, veteran outfielder Nick Castellanos spoke on his former employer in the Phillies. Despite a tumultuous ending to the union of the two sides, there appeared to be no bad blood from the outfielder ahead of the series.

"Great man, it was a lot of winning," Castellanos said when asked to reflect on his time in Philadelphia. "Obviously we fell short of winning a World Series, which is the ultimate goal. But I mean, four straight trips to the postseason, deep into the postseason, a lot of memorable moments, a lot of sad moments. It's gonna be a part of my life that I remember forever."

Furthermore, there has been a positive update on right-hander Joe Musgrove as he continues to recover from a 2024 Tommy John surgery. President of baseball operations AJ Preller recently shut down rumors that Musgrove wouldn't return this season as the 33-year-old continues his process to get back to the mound.

Finally, a bold prediction was made regarding Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal as murmurs of him being dealt at the deadline intensify. Given the Padres' starting rotation issues, it wouldn't be surprising to see Preller go all in on Skubal.

The only question is whether the Padres have enough to entice the Tigers.

Here’s all the latest Padres news and stories (click the headline for the full article):

Padres' Nick Castellanos Sends Clear Message Ahead of Matchup vs Phillies

Padres' Joe Musgrove Finally Takes First Big Step Toward Return

Padres Trade for Tarik Skubal and More Bold Predictions for Rest of Season

Padres Already Struck Gold With $3 Million Starting Pitching Addition

MLB Insider Believes Padres Are at Risk of Major Collapse This Year

Padres Tweets of the Day

Nick Castellanos talks about his time with the Phillies, the way his tenure ended in Philadelphia, communication with the Padres, and the Phillies managerial switch from Rob Thomson to Don Mattingly ahead of the Padres-Phillies series. pic.twitter.com/b1pzxfZB3B
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) May 25, 2026

Happy birthday, Michael! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/9czgs2N8xG
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 25, 2026

Craig Stammen spoke after the game about not being able to break through against Jesus Luzardo, if he believes the Padres are pressing at the plate and his overall assessment of the Padres' offense: pic.twitter.com/aaqdXyUTzw
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) May 26, 2026

Today, we honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. pic.twitter.com/5mjvrRUQ9D
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 25, 2026

Craig Stammen provides some injury updates, talks about Nick Castellanos facing his former team, and more before the Padres take on the Phillies. pic.twitter.com/fWHtUVtFzW
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) May 25, 2026

Players to play in 50+ games this season without a home run:

Nasim Nuñez - 84.5 avg exit velo
Fernando Tatis Jr. - 90.8 avg exit velo

What is going on? pic.twitter.com/pMZsziJJi9
— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) May 25, 2026

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