On the bright side, the Phillies just saved $780-thousand. That’s the MLB minimum, which the Padres are on the hook for paying Nick Castellanos, and it comes off the top of the $20-million he was owed by the Phillies. Now, they only owe him $19.220-million.

Jon Heyman broke the news this morning that Castellanos and the San Diego Padres agreed to a deal for the 2026 season. He later reported that Castellanos will play some combination of DH, first base, and some right field. His reps in the outfield will be limited by the fact that San Diego already has Fernando Tatis Jr. there.

The issues between the Phillies and Castellanos are well documented and came to a hitting a brick wall style ending earlier this week. It was first reported that all of the photos of Castellanos at the Phillies Complex in Clearwater, Florida had been removed and there was no locker for him in the clubhouse. Then, the Phillies told him to simply “stay home.” Finally, came his release on Wednesday, accompanied by two hand-written letters by Castellanos on Instagram to thank the Phillies and their fans, plus one to explain what has now become known as “The Miami Incident.”

In Castellanos’ four seasons in Philadelphia, he hit a combined: 82-326-.260/.306/.426/.732 in 602 games. The soon to be 34-year-old has also played seven seasons in Detroit – where he was drafted by then Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski – before being traded to the Chicago Cubs for the second half of the 2019 season. He then spent two seasons with Cincinnati prior to Dombrowski again signing him to a five-year, $100-million deal with the Phillies. Over his 13 MLB seasons, Castellanos has hit 250 home runs and driven in 920 to go with a slash line of: .250/.294/.400/.694.

In case you’re wondering, the Phillies travel to San Diego May 25-27 and the Padres visit the City of Brotherly Love June 2-4.

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