When the Phillies’ lineup came out at 3:40 p.m. ET on June 17, Nick Castellanos’ name was nowhere to be found. That day in Miami brought an end to Castellanos’ 236-game starting streak, the longest by a Phillies player since Pete Rose, and led to a growing rift in the relationship between the club and its $100 million outfielder.
Shortly after, manager Rob Thomson said he benched the right fielder after an “inappropriate comment” in the dugout. With the end of the streak came the beginning of Castellanos’ public discontent about playing time that culminated in the Phillies signing Adolis García to play right field in 2026 and releasing Castellanos on Thursday in a move the organization views as addition by subtraction.
“I wasn’t happy about (being removed),” Castellanos said on June 17. “I spoke my mind. (Thomson) said that I crossed a line, so my punishment is that I’m not playing.”
Now, Castellanos no longer plays for the Phillies after a tumultuous 2025 in which he openly conveyed his dissatisfaction with Thomson on multiple occasions and struggled to perform to his previous level. The Phillies owe Castellanos, who is under contract through 2026, $20 million. Should he sign with another team, they will owe him the difference between his new salary and $20 million.
It is no surprise the club broke ties with him. A separation was preferred by both parties. General manager Preston Mattingly and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke about working to get Castellanos a change of scenery several times during the offseason, most recently on Monday. Dombrowski said he hoped to have a resolution by the end of the week. The Phillies told Castellanos not to report to the team’s complex this week, league sources said.
One hundred twenty-six days after Castellanos’ last game with the Phillies, the club and outfielder have finally parted ways, ending his ultimately disappointing tenure in Philadelphia.
Castellanos has been one of MLB’s worst defensive outfielders since signing with Philadelphia ahead of the 2022 season. In that span, he ranks last in the major leagues with minus-41 Defensive Runs Saved and third-worst in outs above average (minus-32). He was among the ten worst defenders in both categories in 2025. Poor reads and jumps were a problem at times for Castellanos, though he and outfield coordinator Paco Figueroa worked to sharpen his skills.
While defensive woes were often the focus, Castellanos’ offense also regressed in 2025. He posted a .694 OPS — his lowest figure since 2022 and tied for his worst in any season in which he played more than 11 games. Ever aggressive at the plate, his first-pitch swing rate rose to an MLB-leading 56.5 percentage — a 5.4 percentage point increase — in 2025. That coincided with a first-pitch strike rate of 70.6 percent, second-highest in the majors.
His late-season struggles could be partly attributed to jamming his left knee making a play near the right-field wall at Yankee Stadium on July 25. Castellanos hit .200/.250/.316 with a .566 OPS over his final 45 games after the incident. Before that play, he hit .270/.311/.434 with a .745 OPS in 102 games. The knee bothered Castellanos; after Game 4 of the National League Division Series, he said he wanted it examined. Dombrowski said he had no further updates when asked about Castellanos’ knee at his end-of-season media availability in October.
There had long been questions about removing Castellanos for defense late in games, but Thomson declined to do so until June 16 against the Marlins. Castellanos’ behavior in the dugout afterward prompted his benching, but he continued to start in right field over the next couple of months.
Nick Castellanos’ playing time declined in September as Harrison Bader became the everyday center fielder and the Phillies committed to platooning on the outfield corners. (Luke Hales / Getty Images)
He began to see less playing time in September. That was when Thomson committed to platooning at the outfield corners, paving the way for trade deadline acquisition Harrison Bader, who was among the league’s top outfield defenders, to play every day in center. Then, the Phillies’ outfield mix gelled en route to posting the third-best outfield OPS (.804) in MLB in September. In July, that figure sat at .635 — 25th in the majors.
The lineup shakeup was an adjustment for Castellanos, who started 12 of the Phillies’ 25 September games after playing nearly every day for parts of three seasons.
“It’s brand new,” Castellanos said on Sept. 19. “I’m just making stuff up as I go along. Some days I don’t do anything. Some days I go out for batting practice. It’s just kind of how I feel.”
In the same interview, Castellanos said communication with the coaching staff had been “questionable” over the years and that he did not talk to Thomson often. The two had a “productive” conversation about it on Sept. 20, Thomson said.
A week removed from a devastating season-ending loss to the Dodgers in the NLDS, the manager said the situation was behind him.
“I never hold any grudges,” Thomson said. “If I have a problem with a player or coach, it doesn’t linger. I’m always a guy that’s going to turn the page on that type of thing.”
Seated between then-manager Joe Girardi and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, Nick Castellanos answers questions after signing with the Phillies in March 2022. (Jonathan Dyer / Imagn Images)
The Phillies signed Castellanos to a five-year, $100 million contract in March 2022, a couple of weeks after the sport’s lockout lifted and just a few months removed from an All-Star season in which he slugged .576 and drove in 100 runs for the Reds.
Philadelphia’s introduction to Castellanos featured some of his trademark honesty. In his first news conference, he said, “I don’t have a college degree. I hit baseballs.” Similar candid remarks peppered his interviews over the years, leading to exchanges with media that sometimes went viral.
Nick Castellanos makes a sliding catch in Game 1 of the 2022 NLDS to help preserve a win over the Braves. (Dale Zanine / Imagn Images)
Castellanos had his moments in a Phillies uniform, especially in the postseason. His sliding catch in the ninth put an exclamation point on the Phillies’ 7-6 win in Game 1 of the 2022 NLDS. There were back-to-back homers in the 2023 NLDS, a walk-off single in Game 2 of the 2024 NLDS, driving in three runs in the 2025 NLDS despite going 2-for-15 in the series. Castellanos often shared these moments with his oldest son, Liam, whether celebrating a walk-off hit in the 2024 NLDS or Liam cheering in the stands as Castellanos homered in the 2023 NLCS.
Nick Castellanos:#NLDS Game 3: Two HR
NLDS Game 4: Two HR#Postseason pic.twitter.com/2ysrRhj4Qr— MLB (@MLB) October 13, 2023
There were hot streaks in the postseason, but also difficult slumps in the regular season. Swinging hard and swinging often are traits embedded in Castellanos’ DNA as a hitter. Since 2022, just six other hitters have had a higher zone swing rate in a season than Castellanos did in 2025 (80 percent). That isn’t necessarily the problem; being just as aggressive outside the zone is. Since 2022, Castellanos has posted two of the top 20 out-of-zone-swing rates in a season (15th with 41 percent in 2023; 16th with 40.9 percent in 2025). His walk rate (5.4 percent) ranked in the 15th percentile of MLB in 2025. He struggles to sit on pitches, leading to many frustrating at-bats.
Amid the ups and downs of 2025, there were fleeting glimpses of the dynamic player the Phillies had sought to sign: a thrilling double-slide across home plate with J.T. Realmuto on June 20, a leaping catch near the wall to seal the Phillies’ win in Miami on June 18, driving in his 250th career homer on Sept. 19.
But there were also slow-footed routes, overly aggressive at-bats and behavior that upset his coaches and teammates. The lows, on and off the field, weighed much heavier than the limited highs for the Phillies. Castellanos, a veteran of 13 big-league seasons, will start over with a new team. And the Phillies will begin 2026 with a remade outfield.
— Matt Gelb contributed to this report.