PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After being told not to report with the rest of the team to Clearwater, Florida earlier this week for the start of Spring Training, the Phillies announced Thursday that the team released outfielder Nick Castellanos.
It comes after four seasons that saw Castellanos play mainly right field for the club, and a season where his relationship soured with Manager Rob Thomson following his benching in a June 17 game against the Miami Marlins. The reason given was "inappropriate comments,” and it ended Castellanos’ 263-game streak of starts. At the time, it was the second-longest active streak in the MLB and was the longest on the Phillies since Pete Rose started 350 games for the team back in the 1980s.
Castellanos initially signed for the Phillies in 2022 to a five-year, $100 million contract. He was owed $20 million for the fifth and final season.
The outfielder was part of the Phillies’ Cinderella run to the World Series in 2022, where the team lost to the Houston Astros and played integral parts in subsequent playoff runs in 2023 and 2024. He made the MLB All-Star game in 2023.
In a handwritten note posted to his Instagram, Castellanos thanked Phillies management, fans and his teammates for the last four years.
"Remember, the sharp attention and powerful passion you have for your sports teams are not married to the lens of media companies that cover them," he wrote to the fans. "The color of your collective soul is your own to paint together."
He also addressed the Miami incident that led to his benching, writing that it was him who broke a team rule and that he, Thomson and Phillies President Dave Dombrowski aired out their grievances the day after the game.