The San Diego Padres signed outfielder Nick Castellanos to a one-year deal following his release from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Will there be drama in San Diego after the Padres signed outfielder Nick Castellanos following his release by the Philadelphia Phillies?
Castellanos was released by the Phillies before the start of camp due to the strained relationship between the two parties that couldn’t be resolved in time for spring training. The Padres and Castellanos agreed to terms on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the Phillies paying the $20 million owed to him for this season.
Castellanos took to social media following his release, posting handwritten notes thanking the front office and staff as well as addressing his teammates and fans regarding his tenure in Philadelphia. He also addressed “the incident,” a situation in Miami that took place after he was pulled from a close game against the Marlins.
Castellanos brought a beer into the dugout and sat next to Manager Rob Thomson and aired some of his grievances about “too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others were not conducive to the team winning.”
His teammates stopped him from taking a sip of his Presidente, which he thanked them for, and after the game he went into the office with Thomson and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski to discuss what happened. The conversation ended with Castellanos apologizing for his emotions getting the best of him and he was subsequently benched the following game as punishment.
Castellanos concluded by expressing his love for the game of baseball and winning, also stating that he will learn from this whole situation.
So, will there be drama in San Diego? I will confidently say no, and star center fielder Jackson Merrill explained that what happened with Philadelphia doesn’t apply here because he’s in San Diego now.
“Nick can be himself and he can do whatever he wants in our clubhouse; that’s his personal choice,” Merrill said about Castellanos fitting in with the team. “I think what he did in the other clubhouse has nothing to do with us and I don’t think it’s going to carry over either.
“I think he’s going to come in here and we’re all going to look at him as a new human being. I don’t really care to dive deeply into what he did over there, that was the Phillies, we’re the San Diego Padres. I’m just happy to have him in a new clubhouse, see his vibe and see what he does to help us.”
Merrill was asked what the clubhouse vibe is in San Diego, to which he responded:
“Amazing. That’s all I got to say, amazing.”
It’s safe to say there’s no negative energy coming with Castellanos from Philadelphia and he will add a lot of depth to the Padres lineup.