The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms with veteran slugger Nick Castellanos on a contract for the 2026 season, the New York Post reports. Castellanos was recently released by the Phillies after they tried and failed to trade him this offseason. He’s owed $20 million for the upcoming season, which marks the final year of the five-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Phillies prior to the 2022 season. Philadelphia will be on the hook for the vast majority of that remaining commitment, and the Padres, in turn, will owe Castellanos just the MLB minimum salary of $780,000 for 2026 because he previously cleared waivers.
Castellanos is coming off a 2025 campaign in which he continued a recent pattern of decline at the plate. In 147 games for the Phillies, he slashed .250/.294/.400 (88 OPS+) with 17 home runs and 27 doubles, and he also, at times, clashed with manager Rob Thomson. Over the last three seasons, he’s seen his OPS+ fall from 112 in 2023 to 104 in 2024 to last year’s low-water mark of 88. For his career, Castellanos, a two-time All-Star, has 250 home runs and a WAR of 13.2 across parts of 13 big-league seasons. He’ll turn 34 in early March.
Defensively, Castellanos is a pronounced liability in right field, which has been his primary position for much of the last decade. With the Padres, he’s expected to see limited time in the outfield while also slotting in at DH and working to adapt to first base. The bigger concern is Castellanos’ declining bat. As a right-handed hitter, he still figures to be useful in platoon-advantaged situations, but absent some kind of unexpected rebound, he’s likely not an everyday player at this stage of his career.
The Padres are coming off a 2025 season in which they won 90 games and made the playoffs for the second straight year.