PHILADELPHIA -- The Padres need more offense. Nick Castellanos -- whose job was to help provide it -- had not been doing so.
Thus, the Nick Castellanos experiment in San Diego officially came to an end on Wednesday, when he was designated for assignment. In Philadelphia of all places.
Taking Castellanos’ place on the roster is Samad Taylor, who offers quite a bit more versatility, albeit not much of an offensive track record himself. Taylor can play all three outfield spots as well as both middle infield places.
“We've been talking a little bit about our roster and the flexibility that we'd like to have with our bench and maybe [have] a little bit more speed, a little bit more dynamic players,” manager Craig Stammen said. “It just allows us to maybe do different things.”
Castellanos, 34, came to the Padres on a one-year deal in February after he was released by the Phillies. He’d been entering the final season of a five-year, $100 million contract that began in 2022.
“Nick's such a pro,” Stammen said. “I've really enjoyed having him here in San Diego. We had conversations with him when we signed him that he was going to earn his playing time, and it was probably going to be a different role for him. It wasn't going to be an everyday role that he was accustomed to for the last 12-15 years, his entire life playing baseball.
“I think that was definitely something that was tough for him. It was tough for him to transition from playing every single day to playing two days, then two days off. ... It was a difficult transition for him, and something that he probably didn't really love in the end.”
In 39 games for the Padres, Castellanos batted .191 with a .560 OPS and four home runs.
Simply put, that wasn’t enough. Castellanos isn’t the only Padre who is currently underperforming offensively. San Diego has floundered to the worst batting average in the Majors and has scored the fewest runs. Castellanos was the first casualty. Signed to provide pop off the bench, he wasn’t doing so (though he had authored a couple notable home runs).
“He had a lot of great at-bats for us this year,” said Manny Machado, Castellanos’ longtime friend dating back to their childhoods growing up in Miami. “It sucks that it’s come this way. I think everyone in here loved him and appreciated what he brought every single day. It sucks to hear the news.”
In an earlier shakeup this week in Philadelphia, the Padres selected the contract of Jase Bowen. Bowen and Taylor provide a much more diverse skill set, offering both speed and defense. Taylor has spent parts of three seasons in the Majors, though he’s accrued only 83 career plate appearances. He owns a .205 career average with a .532 OPS.
In 51 games with Triple-A El Paso, Taylor was hitting .319 with a .906 OPS. Those numbers, of course, come in an extremely hitter-friendly environment. But there’s little downside in giving Taylor a chance to prove himself in the big leagues, particularly considering the Padres’ offensive struggles on the whole -- and from Castellanos in particular.
“With our last two guys we've brought up, with Jase and Samad, we've gotten a little bit more of that element of speed, some defense, some versatility that we could use on the bench,” Stammen said.
Castellanos made his return to Philadelphia on Tuesday after a messy split with the club. He did not play, but the Phillies played a video highlighting some of his efforts during their run to the 2022 National League pennant. He was greeted with a mixed reaction from the fans at Citizens Bank Park and tipped his cap from the bench.
Then, with the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the seventh inning, Castellanos was passed over as a pinch-hitter -- the biggest clue for what was to come next.