Dave Dombrowski: ‘We’ll see what happens’ with Nick Castellanos in 2026
PHILADELPHIA — It was a tough year for Nick Castellanos.
The right fielder had the worst full season of his career and saw his playing time diminish down the stretch after being an everyday staple in the Phillies lineup in 2024. He was frustrated with his role and his manager, getting benched by Rob Thomson in June after arguing about being subbed out of a game and criticizing Thomson’s communication in September.
The veteran hitter has a season remaining on his five-year, $100 million contract. But can the Phillies and Castellanos continue on for another year?
“Well, we’ll see what happens,” team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Thursday at an end-of-season news conference at Citizens Bank Park. “I don’t know. I mean, I’m not going to get into specific players that are on our roster under contract, but the things that you talked about are accurate. But we’ll see what happens.”
Let the trade speculation commence.
Castellanos signed on board in the spring of 2022 as the Phillies went into the luxury tax to sign a big right-handed batter who had 34 home runs and a .939 OPS with the Reds the year prior. But his first year in Philadelphia was a struggle, and he did not perform like the middle-of-the-order contributor he was expected to be.
The outfielder responded with a more productive, All-Star campaign in 2023, and he had a .742 OPS in 2024 while playing all 162 games. However, the numbers fell off this season. Castellanos had a .694 OPS in 147 games overall and a .582 OPS in the second half. Coupled with his poor defense in right field, he eventually lost at-bats to Max Kepler as the addition of Harrison Bader in center field allowed the Phillies to run platoons in the corners.
The 33-year-old Castellanos told reporters in Arizona late in the season that he doesn’t “really talk to Rob all that often” about the manager’s plan for the outfield and that Thomson’s “communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience.”
Dombrowski said Thursday that the dynamic was certainly not a new development in his lengthy career as an executive, but he did mention that he prefers that these types of issues be settled in private. He also said that he got involved in the handling of the situation.
“Usually, my take on those things are behind closed doors, really is what it comes down to,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve said this in the past: This is by no means the first incident I’ve ever had with players like this. Usually you have almost one every year, sometimes more than that. It usually doesn’t come quite as public as that. But I usually, in my situation, settle it behind the scenes when I get involved, and I think that’s the most appropriate fashion for me to handle that.”
It’s worth noting that Dombrowski has a history with Castellanos that dates back to the start of the player’s professional career. Dombrowski was the general manager of the Tigers when they drafted Castellanos in the first round in 2010 and when he made his major-league debut with Detroit in 2013. And of course, Dombrowski signed Castellanos to the large contract with the Phillies.
But at this point, it’s hard to imagine the Phillies giving Castellanos regular playing time again unless he can seriously bounce back from his rough 2025. And it’s equally hard to imagine Castellanos being happy with a full season in a limited role.
After the Phillies fell to the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, Castellanos — who hit .133 in the four games but did have two clutch doubles after finding himself with more opportunities due to an injury to Bader — was asked if he’d be willing to accept a similar role next year or if he’d rather have a change of scenery. He responded that he’d want to get some imaging done on the left knee that had been bothering him throughout the second half and “go from there.” Dombrowski said there was no further update on Castellanos’ knee.
With $20 million owed to Castellanos next year, the Phillies may have to retain some money if they do decide to trade him and search for some better solutions in the outfield. But that sounds like it could be more palatable for the club now that there’s only one season left on the deal.
Thomson, who will return to the Phillies in 2026, said his relationship with Castellanos is “good” in his perspective. He’d have no issue managing Castellanos moving forward. But depending on how this winter goes for Philadelphia, he may not have the chance to do so.
“I never hold any grudges,” Thomson said, “or if I have a problem with a player or another coach, it doesn’t linger. I’m always the guy that’s going to turn the page on that type of thing.”