Nick Castellanos Released by Phillies After MLB Trade Rumors, Top Landing Spots for OF
Nick Castellanos' tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies has come to an end after four seasons.
The Phillies announced on Thursday that Castellanos is being released with one year and $20 million remaining on his contract.
This move was expected after Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported on Feb. 11 that the Phillies told Castellanos not to report for the start of spring training because a "resolution" to his situation was likely coming soon.
Castellanos has seemingly been on the trade block for the past year, but his contract and declining performance made it unlikely a deal would come together.
It seemed like the Phillies were making moves this offseason in anticipation of a Castellanos deal, either via trade or release. They agreed to terms with Adolis Garcia on a one-year, $10 million deal on Dec. 15 to boost their outfield depth.
The Phillies signed Castellanos to a five-year, $100 million deal in March 2022. He was coming off arguably the best season of his career up to that point, finishing 12th in NL MVP voting with the Cincinnati Reds in 2021.
Castellanos never came close to repeating that performance during his time in Philadelphia. He hit .260/.306/.426 in 602 games and was worth negative WAR in two of the past four seasons, including an MLB-worst minus-0.6 WAR in 2025.
The 33-year-old had his lowest OPS+ in a full season during the 2025 campaign after posting a .250/.294/.400 slash line. He has never been a good defensive outfielder, but his bat doesn't play well enough to make him a full-time DH.
A team like the Cleveland Guardians, which has done nothing in the offseason to help an offense that ranked 28th in runs scored and wRC+, could use a right-handed bat to platoon with some of their lefty hitters like George Valera and CJ Kayfus.
Rebuilding organizations like the Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins could look at Castellanos as a bridge option for this season as they go all-in on developing prospects in the minors.
The Rockies also have an opening for a right-handed hitter with some pop since Kris Bryant's future is unclear with the news that he will start the season on the 60-day injured list due to a degenerative disc issue in his back.
It's hard to know where Castellanos fits at this point in his career given all of those limitations. He could end up catching on with a team in need of a boost in the lineup that wants to make a buy-low bet on a rebound year.
