BREAKING: Phillies Teammates Blast Nick Castellanos In Bombshell Report

BREAKING: Phillies Teammates Blast Nick Castellanos In Bombshell Report

The Philadelphia Phillies have cut ties with outfielder Nick Castellanos. The team will eat $20 million to get rid of him. Castellanos was in the final season of a five-year, $100 million contract. After the Phillies kicked him to the curb, a report emerged from The Athletic’s Matt Gelb detailing the saga between the player and the team. The piece outlines how Castellanos ostracized himself from the rest of the clubhouse.

“Many teammates had come to resent Castellanos for his attitude.”

Gelb spoke to more than a dozen Phillies players, staff members, and officials about Castellanos. All of them agreed to talk to the reporter on the condition of anonymity. The report illustrated the outfielder as a brash character who consistently put himself before the team. Gelb cited an instance of Castellanos playing music from his own portable speaker after having a good game that Philadelphia lost as an example of his selfish behavior.

“Castellanos, many of his teammates argued, was not a team player,” Gelb wrote. “This was an important distinction to make. His candor, appreciated by some because there was never any guessing about where Castellanos stood, was not for everyone.”

Explosion in Miami Sets Stage For Departure
The inciting incident in the eventual divorce occurred in a game against the Miami Marlins in June, per Gelb. Castellanos was pulled from the contest as part of a defensive substitution in the eighth inning. His response was to grab a Presidente beer, open it, and bring it into the dugout before berating manager Rob Thomson and the other coaches.

“You can’t disrespect the manager and talk to him the way he did,” one Phillies player told Gelb. “You can’t expect it all to be the same after that.”

The response from the team was to bench Castellanos for one game. A suspension due to the open container of alcohol in the dugout was discussed, but never instituted. The lack of punishment didn’t sit well with the other players. They questioned why Thomson and head executive Dave Dombrowski didn’t come down harder on Castellanos. “In the eyes of Castellanos’ teammates, a line had been crossed,” Gelb wrote.

When Philadelphia clinched the NL East, Castellanos smoked a cigar by the dugout, alone, while his teammates and coaches celebrated in the clubhouse, per Gelb. Players were outwardly supportive of Castellanos, hiding their disdain. “As prominent players distanced themselves from Castellanos, everyone agreed to play nice,” Gelb wrote. “It was easier for some than others. Many had a difficult time overcoming what they believed was an unforgivable act committed by Castellanos.”