Going into the 2026 MLB season, the contract of Philadelphia Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos was not what you would describe as a prime asset. As expected, the team announced Thursday that Castellanos had been released.
Castellanos had one year and $20 million left on a $100 million deal that once helped to herald a new era of Phillies baseball, yet Philadelphia made clear that it had no plans for Castellanos to spend that year on its active roster. It was reported in October that the club planned to either trade or release Castellanos before the 2026 season.
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With pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training this week, the outfielder was still technically part of the Phillies organization. But according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, there was no locker for Castellanos at the Phillies’ spring training complex in Clearwater, Florida, and the club reportedly told him not to report to the complex this week.
[More Phillies news: Philadelphia team feed]
The writing had been on the wall all offseason that Castellanos had already played his last game for the Phillies, including when the team signed new right fielder Adolis García. Castellanos earned All-Star honors as recently as 2023, but he was below replacement level in 2025, slashing 250/.294/.400 with the second-worst defense in right field by Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value.
At 33 years old, he’s hardly expected to be better this season, so the Phillies are moving on. A trade would’ve almost certainly seen them eating the vast majority of Castellanos’ 2026 money because this is an area where they have zero leverage, barring multiple teams viewing him as an unlikely bounce-back candidate.
Meanwhile, the Phillies seem set to roll out an outfield of García in right, Brandon Marsh in left and rookie Justin Crawford in center for 2026.
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