Nick Castellanos is expected to be traded or released by the Phillies this offseason

Drew Smith
October 17, 2025
Phillies
0 Comments

It looks like the Phillies are ready to start their offseason shakeup in the outfield as expected, Nick Castellanos could be one of the first dominos to fall.

According to a report from The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, the Phillies are expected to either trade or release the $100 million outfielder.

Nick Castellanos expected to be on the move this winter

Nick Castellanos is expected to be traded or released by the Phillies this offseason, per @MattGelb pic.twitter.com/J5bYePcUN2
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 17, 2025

Dave Dombrowski didn’t say it outright during his season-ending press conference, but his silence said plenty. When asked about Castellanos, Dombrowski replied that he couldn’t comment on “specific players that are on our roster under contract,” then literally spent the next half hour doing exactly that, just not about Nick.

If Philly simply cuts Castellanos, 33, they’ll be on the hook for the remaining $20 million in 2026. A trade would obviously be the better route, but given how public this stance has become, that might be easier said than done.

Dave Dombrowski’s press conference makes me think he hates Phillies fans

Honestly, I don’t know how you could just release Nick Castellanos. Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies have held onto guys like Taijuan Walker instead of eating dead money.

Now I’m supposed to believe that they are going to eat $20 million to get rid of Castellanos? I highly doubt it. If Nick is leaving Phillly, it’s going to come via trade and even then, I’m not thrilled about it.

There’s no denying that Casty had a down year in 2025. He hit .250 with 137 hits, 17 homers, 72 RBIs and 72 runs scored in 147 games during the regular season. He was also one of the very few guys (again) to show up in the postseason.

Point being, the Phillies have a ton of other problems not named Nick Castellanos, so it’s a shame that he’ll likely be the first casualty of the current Phillies era.

Still, the move makes sense. The Phillies could look to stick with Harrison Bader, who proved to be a late-season sparkplug after coming over at the trade deadline.

From there, who knows?

Dombrowski has already confirmed that Max Kepler won’t be returning and gave some cautious optimism about Johan Rojas, who ended the season injured in the minors.

If Nick Castellanos is indeed on the way out and you don’t have Max Kepler, will anyone be happy with Brandon Marsh returning with a “cautiously optimistic” Johan Rojas? It almost goes without saying that would be an absolute disaster.

Anyways, there’s no denying Castellanos had his moments but his inconsistency and his defense in right field has become too much to overlook. His bat (.260/.306/.426 over four years) wasn’t bad but overall, it’s just time to move on.

I’m still skeptical that happens. This will heavily depend on what other moves the Phillies can make this offseason. We’ve heard “Nick Castellanos is gone” rumors before, just like the Alec Bohm trade chatter last year that never happened, so it’s probably best to take this with a grain of salt.

Judging by what Dombrowski said yesterday, the Phillies are serious about trimming the fat and and want to deliver on their “Braves-style” regular-season dominance dreams. If that truly is the plan, then be ready to say goodbye to a lot of faces in the clubhouse.