Nick Castellanos’ time with the Philadelphia Phillies has come to an end. Less than 24 hours after it was revealed the team told Castellanos not to report to spring training, the outfielder was released by the club.
On his way out the door, Castellanos decided to post two handwritten notes, the first of which thanked Phillies staff members and players who supported him during his four years with the club.
The second note focused on something Castellanos deemed “The Miami Incident.” That incident led to a one-game benching for Castellanos, who was in the midst of a streak in which he started 236 consecutive games at the time of the punishment.
At the time, the team said Castellanos’ benching was the results of an “inappropriate comment.” Castellanos revealed the real reason for his benching, and it involved alcohol.
Castellanos’ full note read:
“OK, apparently I need to address The Miami Incident. As one of my friends on the team has informed me, there is an article waiting to come out without my consent or comments about this situation. So I’m going to just share myself.
“As a veteran of the game of baseball there are rules and I broke one in Miami. After being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family, I brought a Presidente into the dugout. I then sat right next to [Phillies manager Rob Thomson] and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others are not conducive to us winning. Shoutout to my teammates and [Phillies special assistant to the general manager Howie Kendrick] for taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip. (I appreciate you guys). After the game, I went into the office with Dave & Rob. We aired out our differences and the conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me. I would like to note, that I was ready to share the details of the incident in its entirety to the media the next day, but was instructed not to by management. The punishment I received for my actions was the benching the following game.
“I love this game, I love being a teammate and I am addicted to winning. I will learn from this.”
Presidente is a brand of Dominican beer.
The game in question occurred June 16 vs. the Marlins. With the Phillies ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth, Castellanos — who has posted poor defensive metrics throughout his career — was removed from the game in favor of Johan Rojas, a superior defensive player.
Castellanos took issue with the move, particularly because he grew up in Florida and had friends and family at the game.
The following day, Castellanos was absent from the Phillies’ lineup, ending his consecutive games started streak.
Despite that incident, Castellanos remained with the Phillies the rest of the season. His numbers declined, as the veteran hit just .250/.294/.400, with 17 home runs, in 589 plate appearances.
In late August — after again being removed from a game in favor of a defensive replacement — Castellanos admitted it was frustrating to deal with reduced playing time. The team signaled it was ready to move on from Castellanos in the offseason, signing veteran Adolis García to a one-year, $10 million contract. García is expected to open the season as the team’s starter in right field, Castellanos’ primary position.
Despite being out of a starting job, Castellanos remained on the Phillies the rest of the offseason. Things came to a head Wednesday, when it was reported the team told Castellanos not to report for spring training.
With the Phillies seemingly out of options, the team decided to release Castellanos on Thursday. While the veteran has some limitations at this point in his career, he posted an OPS better than the league average as recently as 2024.
That should result in Castellanos hooking on with another team during spring training. But after the end of his tenure with the Phillies, Castellanos will have to prove himself more than usual with his new franchise.
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