Preseason acquisition Nick Castellanos was designated for assignment by the San Diego Padres on Wednesday.
Castellanos, who signed a one-year, league-minimum deal with the Padres in February after the Philadelphia Phillies released him ahead of the final year of his five-year $100 million contract, hit .191 with four homers, 20 RBIs and a .560 OPS over 39 games, with 34 strikeouts and five walks.
Ironically, the move was made while Castellanos is back in Philadelphia. A video tribute for Castellanos was shown ahead of Tuesday’s game at Citizens Bank Park, but he did not play in the game.
Part of why Castellanos was let go by the Phillies was his behavior, which included repeated clashes with manager Rob Thomson. Ironically, Philadelphia fired Thomson in late April.
As a corresponding move, the Padres selected infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor from Triple-A El Paso.
Castellanos, 34, is a career .270 hitter with 254 home runs and 940 RBIs in 1,727 games over a 14-year career with the Detroit Tigers (2013-19), Chicago Cubs (2019), Cincinnati Reds (2020-21), Phillies (2022-25) and Padres.
Taylor, 27, would be making his Padres debut. He’s a career .205 hitter with four RBIs over 38 games with the Kansas City Royals (2023) and Seattle Mariners (2024-25). He’s hit .319 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 51 games with El Paso this season.
