Nick Castellanos exposes details of wild dugout incident that led to Phillies exile

We all knew that Nick Castellanos' time with the Phillies was all but done when training camp opened. It became official when the Phillies released the veteran on Thursday afternoon. His photo had already been removed from the hallway at BayCare Ballpark. This isn't anything new, as pictures of departed players are taken down every winter.

But according to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, the Phillies had already told Castellanos not to report to spring training (subscription required). They were still trying to work out a trade for the right fielder whose relationship with the team had deteriorated beyond the point of repair following an incident last June when the Phillies were in Miami.

After being pulled late in one of the games against the Marlins, Castellanos was benched the next day for "crossing a line" with manager Rob Thomson. We never learned what happened last year but all was revealed on Thursday.

Nick Castellanos reveals he brought a beer into Phillies dugout in Miami

And now we know the full story, from Castellanos' view at least. Shortly after the news of his release broke, Castellanos posted a farewell letter to the City of Philadelphia and included the full details of what happened that fateful June night in Miami on his Instagram account.

In the handwritten note, Castellanos admits to bringing a beer into the dugout after being pulled (he didn't drink any thanks to his teammates), told Thomson what he thought of his managing, and then had it out with the skipper and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski in the office after the game.

Here's the note transcribed:

"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 [beer] into the dugout. I then sat right next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning. Shout out to my teammates ... 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 and 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."

There's more than just that incident in Miami that led to the ruptured relationship between player and team. Later in the year, Castellanos publicly criticized Thomson's communication as he aired frustrations with being relegated to a part-time player. There very well could have been more that we never heard about.

Castellanos' farewell included thank yous to managing partner John Middleton and Dombrowski by name but noticably ommitted Thomson's name in thanking the staff.

His message to the fans and people of Philadelphia reads as follows:

"To the people of the city. Thank you for showing up these past 4 years. Applauding or booing you were there. Remember!! the sharp attention and powerful passion you have for your sports teams are not married to the lens of Media Companies that cover them. The color of your collective soul is your own to paint… together.

"Above all thank you for embracing Liam the way you did. For that I can never repay."

So now that the Phillies and Castellanos' dirty laundry has finally been aired in public, everyone can move on as the right fielder will seek another opportunity to play this season.

The Phillies will be on the hook for his full $20 million salary if he doesn't sign with another team or doesn't play in the majors this year. If Castellanos does ink a league-minimum league deal ($780,000), the Phillies will have to pay $19,220,000.