Nick Castellanos has no hard feelings toward the Phillies over the way his time in the City of Brotherly Love ended, but he acknowledged that there are lessons to learn from the experience.
The biggest learning lesson for Castellanos comes from an incident in June, which had been reported by The Athletic, where he brought a beer into the dugout and screamed at manager Rob Thomas and hitting coach Kevin Long.
Castellanos, who was released last week, apologized for the incident in an open letter to Phillies fans and spoke more about his time in Philly at camp with his new Padres team.
“I think when I said I will learn from this is I guess just letting emotions get the best of me in the moment,” Castellanos told reporters at the Padres spring training complex in Arizona. “[Going forward] possibly if I see things that frustrate me or I don’t believe are conducive to winning to speaking up when I see it instead of letting things just pile up over time. And finally, when I address it, it’s less emotional.”
Castellanos found a new home days after the Phillies released him, signing a one-year contract with the Padres over the weekend.
The newest member of the Padres organization seemed upbeat about the opportunity in San Diego.
However, he didn’t seem to regret the way certain things happened in Philadelphia, namely how vocal he was about his frustrations in September.
“In the moment, I felt how I felt, and I spoke from the heart, and I was honest in every word that I said,” he said. “It’s not like I was outwardly ever displaying that. I kept it all inside. But when I was asked a question, I shot straight, and then people perceived it how they wanted.”
The one thing Castellanos said he wished had been different was the ballclub winning a World Series title.
“I mean, I think winning solves everything,” Castellanos said. “So, I think the one thing that I wish would have ended up different that we would have won.”
The Phillies reached the World Series in 2022, but lost to the Astros.
Castellanos now heads to the West Coast and is expected to find time as a designated hitter, while also playing some outfield and potentially first base.
