Phillies Release Nick Castellanos After No Trades Materialize

The Phillies couldn't find any takers and officially pulled the plug Thursday afternoon, releasing Nick Castellanos with one year to go on his five-year, $100 million contract.

Castellanos made the NL All-Star team as a Phillie in 2023 and hit 29 homers with 106 RBI that season, but in totality, did not live up to expectations here.

Castellanos arrived in Philadelphia with an .814 career OPS but posted just a .732 mark as a Phillie. His tenure with the Phils was defined by prolonged streaks cold and hot.

The best example came in the 2023 playoffs when Castellanos hit five home runs in a three-game span in the NLDS but went just 1-for-24 with 11 strikeouts the rest of the way.

At many times throughout his four seasons as a Phillie, the team needed right-handed power behind either Bryce Harper or Kyle Schwarber. That's where Castellanos could have and still could help in 2026, but the fit was no longer there. He helped wear out his welcome with a dugout confrontation last summer with manager Rob Thomson, who is almost universally liked in and outside the Phils' clubhouse.

The Phillies entered the spring knowing full well that Castellanos would not be part of their 2026 plans but held out hope that they could find a trade partner willing to take on a few million dollars of his salary. But every team around baseball saw the position the Phillies were in and obviously felt no need to trade for him when they could just try to sign him for the league minimum instead.

While the Phils couldn't find a trade partner, Castellanos should have a decent-sized market as a platoon DH at the very least. A signing team would be paying him less than $1M so it's not much of a risk.

The Phillies signed Adolis Garcia to a one-year, $10 million contract in December to play right field. Garcia has the same primary flaw as Castellanos: a lack of plate selection. At the very least, though, the Phillies will have a better arm in right field with better speed on the bases from that spot.

Castellanos was signed the same offseason the Phillies added Kyle Schwarber on a four-year, $78 million contract. One deal turned out to be a steal. The other was a bust.

Even for a major-market team with money to spend like the Phillies, a $20M annual miss hurts. The Phils are subject to MLB's harshest luxury tax penalties as a repeat offender that is also an estimated $60M over the threshold, so every new signing costs more than the amount the player will earn. This season, the $20 million albatross associated with Castellanos could have gone to a big bat, it could have gone to a starting pitcher like Chris Bassitt or Zac Gallen.

Instead, the Phillies will wait a year for Castellanos' salary to come off the books.