Nick Castellanos was released by the Phillies on Thursday after a tumultuous and disappointing tenure in Philadelphia.
And while the move wasn’t particularly unexpected, it did come with some drama, as after Castellanos’ release was announced by the team, the veteran outfielder acknowledged bringing a beer into the dugout after being removed from a game in Miami last June.
That led to Castellanos being benched the following game by Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who said at the time the outfielder was being punished for an “inappropriate comment” in the dugout, something the 33-year-old Castellanos addressed Thursday.
He sectioned this part of the note, “Miami Incident.”
“As a veteran of the game of baseball, there are rules, and I broke one in Miami,” Castellanos posted on Instagram. “After being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family, I brought a presedente [sic] into the dugout. I then sat right next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others are not conducive to us winning. Shoutout to my teammates and Howie [Kendrick, assistant GM, who was in the dugout] for taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip. (I appreciate you guys).”
His benching made headlines at the time, in part, because Castellanos had a 236-game starting streak prior to the incident. He also grew up in the suburbs of Miami.
Castellanos, who’s played 13 years in the majors, has one year and $20 million remaining on a five-year, $100 million deal he signed after coming off a career-best year in Cincinnati in 2021.
His time with the Phillies didn’t go well, although he was an All-Star in 2023.
Castellanos’ production fell off sharply following that season and his departure from Philadelphia was almost a foregone conclusion, especially when the team signed Adolis Garcia this past offseason.
Team president Dave Dombrowski said of Castellanos during the offseason “sometimes a change of scenery can be beneficial for people.”
He was reportedly told not to report to spring training and there was reportedly no locker for him at the team’s spring training facility in Clearwater, Fla.
