One of the more notable moves the San Diego Padres made this offseason was signing former All-Star slugger Nick Castellanos. After being let go by the Philadelphia Phillies following four seasons, Castellanos quickly joined the Padres on a league-minimum contract.
Although Philadelphia is still responsible for the remaining $20 million of his salary due to the release, the Phillies appeared eager to move on. Following his departure, the media criticized Castellanos’s reputation questioning his character as a teammate and reporting that he had brought a beer into the dugout during a game last season.
Castellanos has taken responsibility for the incident and is eager to turn the page with the Padres. However, in a recent interview with Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune, he reflected on his time in Philadelphia and pushed back against the media’s portrayal of him.
According to Castellanos, the Phillies organization tried to downplay the situation, while he preferred to be transparent. He pointed to the notoriously tough Philadelphia media as part of the problem, saying their treatment of him was a clear example.
“But that just kind of shows, for me, the character of the media that’s over there. Because that [incident] happened seven months [before the article was published]. And the only reason why I didn’t tell the media the next day was because I was instructed by the organization not to. I wanted to. I remember sitting in Rob [Thomson’s] office saying that I take pride in being authentic. I don’t want to lie. I don’t want to hide. And it was from their instruction that they wanted it to be,” Castellanos said.
Known for his intense personality in the clubhouse, Castellanos admitted that his emotions got the better of him during the incident. Still, he felt the media’s attack on his character was unnecessary especially after the team had already moved on.
“But the media, just with other incidents I had … They all have jobs to do. But the information that I got was, they thrive off of controversy and they’d rather be controversial than truthful,” Castellanos said. “One of the things that was hard for me was to just pretend like I didn’t absorb that.”
Now with the Padres, Castellanos is focused on the future rather than dwelling on his Phillies tenure. It wasn’t all negative in Philadelphia he helped the team reach the 2022 World Series and earned an All-Star selection.
That said, Castellanos never fully lived up to his five-year, $100 million contract with the Phillies, which may have fueled some of the media criticism. He added that he holds no hard feelings toward the organization or his former teammates.
His time in Philadelphia may always carry some ambiguity, but Castellanos takes pride in knowing he gave his best effort to help the team win. Now, he’s ready to move on and make a positive impression with the Padres.
His start in San Diego hasn’t been stellar so far he’s batting .146 with five RBIs and three walks but he continues to stay prepared for whenever his number is called.
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