February 12, 2026
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Imagn Images
Nick Castellanos was released by the Phillies, who never intended to bring him back and made that known.
The Phillies on Thursday released Nick Castellanos and will eat the $20 million on the final year of his deal, because what other recourse did they have?
Dave Dombrowski, Phillies president of baseball operations, essentially made the 29 other MLB clubs call his trade bluff when he repeatedly said during the offseason said Castellanos wouldn't be with the Phillies in 2026.
They announced the move in one simple sentence:
The Phillies have released OF Nick Castellanos.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) February 12, 2026
Dombrowski also signed free-agent outfielder Adolis Garcia to a one-year deal and anointed the former American League Championship Series MVP as the team's new right fielder, another firm signal that the team had no intention of bringing Castellanos back.
Castellanos slashed just .250/.294/.400 in 2025 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs after having consecutive 20-homer, 80-RBI seasons in 2023 and 2024. He had six homers and 20 RBIs in 38 career postseason games for the Phils but Castellanos last season clashed with manager Rob Thomson after being replaced in a game for defensive reasons in Miami and was suspended one game for making what the team called "inappropriate remarks."
On Tuesday, the day before pitchers and catchers reported to Clearwater for the start of spring training, Dombrowski told reporters in a Zoom that his priority was to move Castellanos before position players are expected to report to camp Monday, saying he's continuing to "talk to clubs" about a deal involving the 33-year-old right fielder who is entering his 14th season.
Dombrowski said the Phillies were "doing everything we can to make a move," but then ended up outright releasing Castellanos two days later, receiving nothing in return and eating the full salary in the fifth and final year of Castellanos' contract.
Castellanos, on his Instagram account, posted a picture of a four-page, handwritten goodbye to the organization along with an explanation of what led to his one-game suspension following the game in Miami, his hometown.
OnPattison posted the entire Instagram letter on its X account.
Nick Castellanos posted a goodbye message to Philadelphia — and explained the Miami incident between him and Rob Thomson — to his Instagram following his release from the Phillies:
— OnPattison (@OnPattison) February 12, 2026
(via casty_8/Instagram) pic.twitter.com/onXKoifRvz
In the letter, Castellanos started by thanking owner John Middleton, along with Dombrowski and the staff – he didn't specifically mention Thomson – and his teammates.
"Playing with you all will be a core memory for the rest of my life," he wrote.
Castellanos then thanked Phillies fans for always showing up at games, writing that "applauding or booing, you were there." He also wrote that their "sharp attention" and "powerful passion" for the city's sports teams aren't "married to the lens of media companies that cover them."
The final two pages appear to be an addendum intended to give his side of the story regarding the incident after the Miami game that led to his benching the next game.
Castellanos wrote that he was informed that an article is about to come out "without his consent" that will detail the night he made remarks to Thomson that got him a one-game suspension, "so I'm going to just share myself."
He went onto write that he broke a rule that night, bringing in a beer into the dugout, and then sat next to Thomson and "let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others are not conducive to us winning."
Castellanos went on to explain that he, Thomson and Dombrowski afterward went into an office and "aired out our differences," with Castellanos writing that he apologized for "letting my emotions get the best of me." He also wrote that he offered to explain the entire situation to the media the next day but "was instructed not to by management" and that his benching was his punishment for the incident.
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