Padres designate – San Diego designated veteran outfielder Nick Castellanos for assignment on Wednesday, ending the one-year stint that followed his February arrival. The Padres also selected utility player Samad Taylor from Triple-A El Paso to the Major League roster.
On Wednesday, the Padres made a decision that changes the shape of their roster right now: they designated veteran outfielder Nick Castellanos for assignment.
The move comes as San Diego is in the middle of a three-game series in Philadelphia, a city tied tightly to Castellanos’ last chapter. Over four years with the Phillies, he hit 82 home runs and posted a .732 OPS, and he played a key role in their run to the 2022 NL pennant.
Castellanos arrives in San Diego with a resume that had real weight. The 34-year-old joined the Padres on a one-year deal in February after he was released by the Phillies ahead of the final season of a five-year. $100 million contract that began in 2022. What the Padres got this time didn’t match the promise of the previous contract.
In 39 games for San Diego, Castellanos hit .191 with a .560 OPS, along with four home runs and 20 RBIs. His time with the Padres was spread across multiple roles: he saw action in both outfield corners, at first base, and as a designated hitter.
San Diego’s response was immediate on the field. In a corresponding move, utility man Samad Taylor was selected to the Major League roster from Triple-A El Paso.
Taylor, 27, has played 38 MLB games across 2023-25 with the Royals and Mariners. This season at El Paso, he’s hitting .319 with a .906 OPS in 51 games—numbers that give the Padres a different profile at a time when they decided they couldn’t keep trying the Castellanos experiment.
The timing is sharp, too. Castellanos is heading into the next stage of his career while the Padres are still in Philadelphia, where his past success remains visible in the record books—82 homers and the .732 OPS that came with that Phillies run to the 2022 NL pennant.
Padres Nick Castellanos Samad Taylor designated for assignment El Paso Major League roster Phillies