Nick Castellanos Reportedly to be Traded or Released by Phillies in MLB Free Agency

Nick Castellanos' erratic tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies is expected to come to an end very soon.

Per The Athletic's Matt Gelb, Castellanos will either be traded or released by the Phillies at some point this offseason.

The Phillies have a lot of big decisions to make this offseason coming off losses in the NLDS in back-to-back years. Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suárez and J.T. Realmuto are their top players set to hit free agency.

Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, told reporters at his end-of-season press conference on Thursday that retaining all three players is a priority for the organization, but also acknowledged the difficulty of paying everyone given how much money is already on their books in 2026:

"We won 96 games. You're always looking to get better, so we will be open-minded to that. There's some built-in situations for us that are going to have to be addressed. So, where you go as a club is very much dictated on some of those moves that end up happening. We also have some young players that are going to mesh into our club."

Schwarber seems like the safest bet from that group to return since Phillies owner John Middleton has said they will do everything possible to keep the superstar DH after he hit 56 homers this season.

Castellanos is entering the final season of the five-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Phillies in March 2022. He hasn't really fit with the club throughout his entire tenure because he's a bat-only player who had to spend a lot of time in the outfield due to Schwarber's presence at DH.

Trading Castellanos could be very difficult for Dombrowski given his declining offensive production and $20 million salary in 2026. The Phillies would likely have to eat a significant portion of that money owed to Castellanos to get a team to trade for him.

Castellanos was a negative-WAR player in two of the past four seasons and hit just .250/.294/.400 in 147 games during the 2025 campaign.

The Phillies have won the NL East in each of the past two seasons, but they lost in the NLDS both times. They haven't won a playoff series since the 2023 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.