Padres' Nick Castellanos Reacts to Rob Thomson Firing, Discusses Phillies Exit

San Diego Padres outfielder Nick Castellanos offered his take on his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies, replacing manager Rob Thomson with Don Mattingly this season after a rough start.

"Well, the decision is not mine to make," he told reporters. "But when they put Don into the manager's seat, my thought was: Right man, right spot. I think the fact that a father gets to work underneath his son is a beautiful thing. I think that baseball is a personal, family, authentic game, and I mean, honestly, what more of an authentic, genuine relationship can you have when you have a father like Don Mattingly and also a son like Preston, who I've been able to form a relationship with over the years, and how he goes about his business? I think it's a beautiful thing."

Castellanos and Thomson clashed, especially last season, when the veteran outfielder found himself occasionally in a platoon amidst struggles at the plate (.250 with 17 homers, 72 RBI and a .694 OPS across 147 games). The Phillies ultimately decided cutting ties with Castellanos was necessary, to the point that the team simply ate his $19.2 million salary and cut him when a trade didn't materialize.

The Phillies replaced him with right-fielder Adolis García, who is having a rough season at the plate but is a massive upgrade defensively.

"They handled it the way that they handled it and, obviously, it led to me being in a tough spot at the end, not really knowing what was up," Castellanos said of the offseason. "But at the end of the day, I'm here. I'm in this clubhouse. This staff is great. They've really embraced me. I feel like the players have really embraced me. The front office consistently asks me questions about how I see things."

That platoon has continued this season with the Padres, and Casty's numbers have been even worse (.190 with four homers, 19 RBI and a .578 OPS). But San Diego has handled the situation more to his liking.

"Communication, for sure," he replied when asked how the Padres have handled his platoon differently than Philly.

As for his time with the Phillies and his departure, he's seemingly moved on.

"I mean, it is what it is," Casty told reporters. "I don't have no hard feelings. They're an organization that's doing what they feel like is necessary for them to win, and they're making decisions, and that led me to San Diego. I'm enjoying myself, and I'm getting to be teammates with new guys. Everything happens for a reason."