The Padres announced that first baseman/outfielder Nick Castellanos selected for assignment. Midfielder/Outfielder Samad Taylor was selected to take his place on the 40-man active duty roster.
Castellanos, 34, has spent years as a middle-of-the-pack threat. Before the 2022 season, the Phillies signed him to a five-year contract worth $100MM. Before that deal began, Castellanos wore out his welcome in Philly. In the 2025 season, he slashed .250/.294/.400 with a wRC+ of 90. As a poor outside linebacker, he is considered below par for the turn of the year. He also fell out with his manager at the time, Rob Thomson, which didn’t seem to help.
He is signed until 2026, with a salary of $20MM. It was known all winter that the Phils wanted to move on. In the end, they couldn’t make a trade, so Castellanos was released as camps opened in February. That left the Phils on the hook for cash. Any other club can sign Castellanos and will only owe him the split league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be deducted from what the Phillies paid.
The Padres quickly volunteered, signing Castellanos within days of his release. It was a low-risk move from a financial perspective but it didn’t work. Castellanos has a .191/.221/.339 line through 122 plate appearances this year. His .228 batting average on balls in play isn’t doing him any favors but his 4.1% walk rate and 27.9% strikeout rate are both worse than average, even worse than his career numbers. He has good career numbers and team value but isn’t hitting pitchers anywhere this year, with a .182/.206/.303 line against southpaws.
San Diego rolled with Castellanos long enough for him to return to Philadelphia in a new uniform. The Padres started the series at Citizens Bank Park last night, although Castellanos was not included in the game. Now they have decided it is time to move on. He will probably be released again in the coming days.
Time will tell if any other club is willing to give Castellanos a shot. As mentioned, he is having a bad season and struggled last year as well, although he has been strong at the plate at times. As recently as 2024, he hit 23 home runs and slashed .254/.311/.431 with a 104 wRC+. That includes a .269/.324/.506 line and a 124 wRC+ against lefties. If any club thinks they can get back to that level, they will be cheap.
The Padres will turn to Taylor, who signed a minor league deal over the winter. He is hitting .319/.406/.500 in Triple-A, resulting in a 122 wRC+. That streak was fueled by a .371 batting average on balls in play but Taylor’s 11.7% walk rate and 17.6% strikeout rate are both solid clips.
Taylor often puts up big numbers in the minors but has yet to click in limited big league appearances. He was sent to the plate 83 times in three separate seasons with the Royals and Mariners, hitting just .205/.272/.260 in that span.
Ideally, he could produce some offense similar to his minor league numbers. Even if he can’t, he should be able to provide value in other ways. He is a threat to the foundations, for example. He has nine steals this year and has been between 40 and 50 in most of his minor league seasons. He can also provide defensive versatility, having played second base and all three outfield positions this year. In previous seasons, he played shortstop and third base as well.
The Friars at the moment Jake Cronenworth on the injured list, so there is a hole at second base. They were using Song of Sung-Mun again Fernando Tatis Jr. to close that place. They also lost Ramon Laureano in IL this week, so maybe they want Tatis to get back to being a regular in the outfield. Song has a .154/.290/.192 line on the year, so maybe Taylor can take some time to play second base for him. If that fails, Tatis can stay on the field Jackson Merrill, Gavin Sheets, Jace Bowen again Bryce Johnson.
Even if Taylor doesn’t work his way into a regular role, he should be useful as a bench player who can play a pressing and defensive role. If he is pressed when Cronenworth and Laureano return, he is out of options.
Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images
