Castellanos has – Nick Castellanos looked back on his time with the Phillies Monday and said he holds “no hard feelings,” even after an ending that included reports about a dugout beer incident and strained communication. Now in San Diego, he’s embracing a changed role as a mor
SAN DIEGO — Barely three months ago, Nick Castellanos was still a Philadelphia Phillie. All offseason, speculation had swirled that the Phillies might deal him or offload him, but as camp approached and no transaction came, he prepared to report to Clearwater, Fla.
Monday, ahead of the first meeting between the two NL contenders this season, Castellanos addressed what happened with the Phillies and how he feels about it now. His answer was simple, and it landed the way a decision does when it’s already been made.
“It is what it is — I don’t have no hard feelings for it,” Castellanos said. “They’re an organization that’s doing what they feel like is necessary for them to win. and they’re making decisions. And that led me to San Diego. I’m enjoying myself and getting to be teammates with new guys. Everything happens for a reason.”.
In San Diego, he has found a new home and a new pattern of use. Castellanos began the season as a lightly used bench piece, then evolved into a semi-regular starter in right field. The numbers haven’t been tidy — he has struggled overall. posting a .190 average with a .577 OPS — but the recent shift in playing time has brought a bit more rhythm.
He was in the starting lineup, batting sixth, for the opener of a three-game series at Petco Park. Before first pitch, he chatted with teammates and met with a group of reporters, fielding the question that followed him since the Phillies days ended.
“Great, man, there was a lot of winning,” Castellanos said. “Obviously we fell short of winning the World Series, which is the ultimate goal. But. I mean. four straight trips into the postseason. deep into the postseason. a lot of memorable moments. a lot of sad moments. But it’s going to be a part of my life that I remember forever.”.
For Castellanos, that permanence is the point — even if the ending wasn’t smooth.
Reports surfaced during and after his release that Castellanos’ relationship with the team and some teammates had soured. One of those reports described a specific incident from last June: Castellanos brought a beer into the dugout after frustration over being removed by Phillies manager Rob Thomson for defensive purposes.
The irony is hard to miss now that he’s with the Padres, where he has been regularly removed for defensive purposes as well. In San Diego, though, he said he has leaned into the part-time bench role he seemed reluctant to accept in Philadelphia.
“Communication for sure,” said Castellanos.
“You can fill in the blanks on that,” he added, stopping short of details.
Castellanos had penned a letter at the time of his release that addressed the incident with the beer and some of the hangups with communication during his time in Philadelphia. In Monday’s conversation, he returned to the theme of learning instead of relitigating the past.
“I just had a lot of pent up emotion and frustration that all came out pretty colorfully in the moment. ” Castellanos said. “Obviously not ideal. But everything that I said was 100% genuine. How did I learn from it?. If I feel something that upsets me or doesn’t sit right. I’m doing better at just saying it immediately then. Things are always easier to handle one step at a time.”.
He also gave credit to the Padres for their communication style. He didn’t stop there, either, because the Phillies’ own leadership change has become part of the backdrop to his exit.
Since Castellanos’ release, the Phillies parted ways with Rob Thomson and promoted Don Mattingly into the manager’s chair. When asked about that move, Castellanos didn’t pretend the decision was his.
“The decision is not mine to make,” he said. “But when they put Don into the manager seat, my thought was: right man, right spot.”
Castellanos added: “Don is doing a great job. They seem to have been playing well since he was put into his position. Which, rightfully so, they’re one of the most talented teams in all of baseball.”
Even with those answers in front of him, Castellanos kept steering the conversation back to the present, especially as questions lingered about how the Phillies handled his release.
“What am I going to sit here and start thinking about a bunch of stuff and be playing judge and jury?” Castellanos said. “I could do that. But that’s not going to help anybody or make any situation better. They handled it the way that they handled it.”
He acknowledged the uncertainty that followed.
“Obviously it led to me being in a tough spot at the end, not really knowing what was up. But at the end of the day, I’m here. I’m in this clubhouse. This staff is great. They’ve really embraced me. I feel like the players have really embraced me.”
By the time he stepped into Petco Park as a right fielder batting sixth, the storyline had already shifted: not from bitterness to acceptance, exactly, but from being defined by an ending to trying to control what happens next.
Nick Castellanos Phillies Padres San Diego Petco Park Rob Thomson Don Mattingly dugout beer communication