Nick Castellanos' New Padres Teammates React to Adding the Ex-Phillie

Nick Castellanos is off to San Diego (well, Peoria, Arizona for now) to join the Padres, where he'll be welcomed with open arms after his four-year relationship with the Phillies ended on a sour note.

Several of Castellanos' new teammates were asked by reporters about the signing Saturday morning and agreed that the change of scenery should help.

Here's some of what they told 97.3 The Fan:

CF Jackson Merrill on Castellanos

"Nick can be himself and he can do whatever he wants in our clubhouse, that's his personal choice. I think what he did in the other clubhouse has nothing to do with us and I don't think it's going to carry over either. He's going to come in here and we're all going to look at him as a new human being.

"I don't really care to dive in too deep to what he did over there because they're the Phillies and we're the San Diego Padres. I'm just happy to have him in a new clubhouse, see his vibe and see what he does to help us."

Castellanos was released on Thursday after the Phillies failed to find salary relief in a trade. They will pay all but $780,000 of his $20 million salary in 2026 with San Diego on the hook for the league minimum.

Castellanos' performance had continued to drop and his relationship with the Phillies had deteriorated. The event everyone will remember is the incident last June in Miami in which Castellanos admitted he acted unprofessionally in the dugout after being pulled for a defensive replacement by manager Rob Thomson. In a hand-written letter to the city of Philadelphia after his release, Castellanos revealed he brought a beer into the dugout, sat down next to Thomson and was about to crack it open before being urged against it by teammates and special assistant Howie Kendrick.

SP Joe Musgrove on Castellanos

"Good veteran leader, been around the league a lot, played on a couple different teams, got to see how different organizations are run. He's been on winning organizations. I'm excited to see the elements he brings to the clubhouse."

Castellanos may have fit better on a few other rosters, most notably a couple of right-handed-needy outfields in the AL Central, but he valued winning. He referred to himself in his letter to Philly as "obsessed" with it, and that has never seemed like lip service.

Castellanos is expected to platoon at first base with Gavin Sheets and see some time at DH. Right-handed hitter Miguel Andujar is also in the mix at DH. The Padres have a great defensive outfield with Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ramon Laureano so Castellanos is unlikely to see any time there barring injury.

Closing the book

The Phillies have moved on. They moved on a while ago, committing to rightfielder Adolis Garcia for the 2026 season. They're hoping that Garcia can get back to his peak of 2023 when he hit .245 with 39 home runs and 65 walks. Garcia has just a .278 on-base percentage the last two seasons and is far from a perfect fit for the Phils, but if it clicks for him in 2026 it could alter the complexion of their lineup.