It appears the Nick Castellanos era in Philadelphia is coming to an end after four seasons as the Phillies have reportedly been shopping the 33-year-old outfielder after a tumultuous 2025 campaign.
Despite being under contract for the 2026 season, Castellanos is widely expected to be on his way out either via a trade or a release. Castellanos, a two-time All-Star, is coming up on the final season of a five-year, $100 million deal he signed ahead of the 2022 season.
Phillies 'actively' trying to trade Nick Castellanos this offseason
At this week's GM Meetings, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski indicated that the outfielder is not in the team’s plans as they navigate what will be a busy offseason. According to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, the Phillies are actively shopping Castellanos (subscription required).
Dombrowski told the media that he had a lengthy conversation with Castellanos, and that the team is open-minded about his future.
Castellanos was a vital part of the Phillies' success from 2022 through 2024, including a World Series appearance in his first year. During those three seasons, he hit 65 home runs to go along with 254 RBIs in 455 games.
The 2025 campaign, however, was a different story. His playing time diminished greatly this season as he became a platoon outfielder down the stretch.
The decrease in playing time was largely attributed to his lackluster defensive performance combined with a locker room dustup with manager Rob Thompson in June. This incident led to Castellanos being benched and then splitting time with the likes of Max Kepler, Weston Wilson and Brandon Marsh during the final three months of the year.
In addition to the incident with Thomson, Castellanos added more fuel to the fire of a potential departure when he expressed his frustrations with the manager's level of communication in September.
This brings us to the present.
"Sometimes a change of scenery can be beneficial for people," Dombrowski said about Castellanos' future, per Gelb. "But we’ll wait and see what happens."
Given the amount of money he is owed this year, the Phillies would likely have to take on part of Castellanos' contract if they move him.
One possible team worth mentioning is the Miami Marlins, who Castellanos considered signing with back in 2022 before committing to Philadelphia. He's from Hialeah, which is less than 10 miles from Miami and could provide veteran leadership to a young team looking to take on money this offseason.
If Castellanos’ time in Philadelphia is up, he would finish his Phillies tenure with 82 home runs and 326 RBIs in 602 games. The saga is just one small domino in what is expected to be a pivotal offseason for the future of the Phillies.