Padres Move on from Nick Castellanos Before Phillies Reunion

Nick Castellanos Cut Again as Padres Move On Before Phillies Reunion

Nick Castellanos’ latest stop in the majors may already be over.

The Padres designated the former Phillies outfielder for assignment on Wednesday, cutting ties with the 34-year-old just months after San Diego signed him and one day before he might have appeared against his former club in Philadelphia.

Castellanos did not play in Tuesday night’s game against the Phillies, though he had appeared to be a possible option for Wednesday’s matchup against left-hander Cristopher Sánchez. Instead, San Diego chose to remove him from the roster and promote utilityman Samad Taylor from Triple-A El Paso.

It marks the second time in roughly four months that Castellanos has been dumped by a team. The Phillies released him in February after a turbulent and disappointing 2025 season, eating the remainder of the final year of his contract. San Diego then brought him aboard on a league-minimum deal, with Philadelphia still responsible for the bulk of his salary.

The gamble did not pay off. In 39 games with the Padres, Castellanos hit just .191 with a .560 OPS before losing his spot.

San Diego manager Craig Stammen said the timing of the move, coming in Philadelphia, was merely coincidental and framed the decision as a roster-construction call.

“It was tough because Nick is such a pro and I enjoyed having him in San Diego,” Stammen said. “We’d been talking about roster flexibility, adding a little more speed and a little more dynamic players with versatility to our bench.”

Stammen also pointed to the challenge Castellanos faced adapting to a reduced role after years as an everyday player.

“I think it was tough for him to transition from playing every day to playing two days then having two days off,” Stammen said. “It’s a difficult transition, something he probably didn’t love or feel comfortable with, either, so we decided to make a move.”

For Castellanos, the designation is another sharp turn in what has become a steep late-career slide. For the Phillies, it is a reminder of how quickly a once-central lineup fixture has faded from the picture.

Nick Castellanos Cut Again as Padres Move On Before Phillies Reunion was originally published on rnbphilly.com