All winter long, the Philadelphia Phillies tried to break free from outfielder Nick Castellanos. After getting no team to bite on a trade offer, the Phillies ended up releasing the soon-to-be 34-year-old veteran. It was a questionable call to outright cut Castellanos from the roster, but he left them no choice just before spring training. It needed to happen sooner rather than later, and even MLB executives stand by what the Phillies did.
Jayson Stark of The Athletic gathered 36 executives, former executives, managers, coaches, and scouts. He had them vote on the biggest additions and subtractions of the offseason (subscription required).
The Phillies didn't land any of the top additions over the past few months, but in the list for best subtractions over the winter, Castellanos was voted No. 1. Ironically enough, the votes were cast before Castellanos was even released on Feb. 12.
Phillies can take solace in the fact that others would have done the same thing with Nick Castellanos
It's tough to know when a player has played his final game in a certain uniform and for a certain organization, but this one felt well-justified. The Phillies were willing to eat pretty much all of his $20 million salary, a large amount when you also incorporate additional luxury tax. The San Diego Padres picked him up for the league minimum of $780,000, and now the Phillies can move on.
Not only was Nick Castellanos voted “best subtraction” in @jaysonst’s survey of executives, but all of the voting took place before he was even released last week. pic.twitter.com/orbbLEciHg
— Tucker Bagley (@TBagleySports) February 18, 2026
An anonymous NL executive thought the move was a good opportunity for the Phillies to do so, knowing that Castellanos was still officially on the Phillies.
“Best subtraction? I would definitely say Nick Castellanos,” per the executive. “I mean, we know he’s moving, but he hasn’t yet. So he can’t qualify yet, right?”
He certainly did qualify.
Castellanos became a problem outside of his career-worst season with a .250 batting average and .694 OPS. He wasn't producing at the All-Star level the Phillies were hoping they were going to get when they signed him to a five-year, $100 million contract back in 2022.
Castellanos had some brilliant moments over the years, but the Phillies also reportedly endured a lot of additional frustration and toxicity when trying to deal with him. The Miami incident was a big turning point back in June last season and Castellanos lost a lot of respect in the clubhouse (subscription required).
The Phillies are now looking to put this behind them, maybe not the way they were expecting, but hopefully they will be a better club as a result. It was a bold move to cut Castellanos with everything attached, but at least the rest of the league agrees at the end of it all.