Jun 18, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos (8) celebrates with his team after hitting a game winning RBI double during the ninth inning against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Hey, Phillies fans, got anything planned June 2? If so, you might want to clear your calendar.
Because that's the day it looks like Nick Castellanos will be coming back to town.
In this never-ending soap opera, Castellanos appears close to signing a deal with the San Diego Padres.
Breaking: Nick Castellanos close to Padres deal
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Castellanos will get a Major League deal and it will be for the veteran minimum of $780,000.
The Padres are pretty set across the outfield with Ramon Laureano, Jackson Merrill and Fernando Tatis Jr. from left to right, so Castellanos has to be willing to serve in another role in San Diego.
Currently, Miguel Andujar is expected to be their designated hitter, but like Castellanos, he's better against lefties than righties.
At the moment, the Padres have Gavin Sheets penciled in as their first baseman, but he can't hit lefties. Castellanos has indicated that he's willing to play first base, so maybe that's where he best plugs in with the Padres, as a platoon option.
Nick Castellanos to the Padres? 👀
Trust in AJ! pic.twitter.com/hciTOrJhIH
The Phillies released Castellanos on Thursday and are on the hook for the entirety of the $20 million they owed him for 2026. The fallout of this divorce has played out like a Netflix special, especially after Castellanos posted a handwritten manifesto on his Instagram account to talk about "The Miami Incident" in which he admitted to bringing an open beer into the dugout to voice his displeasure with being pulled from a game against the Marlins for a defensive replacement last June 6.
A scathing story from Matt Gelb at The Athletic painted Castellanos as a bad teammate at times and that several Phillies distanced themselves from him over the course of the season, especially after the trade deadline when Castellanos was being turned into a platoon outfielder.
The Phillies will actually visit San Diego before the Padres come East. The Phillies have a six-game trip to southern California beginning May 25 that starts with three against the Padres before going back to the scene of the crime and taking on the Dodgers in Los Angeles the following weekend.
Then the Padres come to Philly the following week, which means there'll be about 10 more days of this drama to play out in the spring.
