Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos (8) looks on before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
LOS ANGELES — Unlike J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suárez and Harrison Bader, Nick Castellanos isn't about to become a free agent. He was nonetheless asked about his future with the Phillies after the team was knocked out of the NLDS by the Dodgers Thursday night.
After the Phillies acquired Bader prior to the trade deadline, Castellanos became a part-time player for the first time in his career. It was a role that he accepted begrudgingly, as would any player who had played every day for the first 12 years of his career.
But now that the season is over, it is a conversation worth revisiting. If the Phillies envision using Castellanos in a part-time role next season, would he embrace that, or want a change of scenery?
"I think that right now, where I'm at is, I'm going to get some imaging on my knee, rest, then clean that up and see where we're at and then just go from there," Castellanos said. "So, first things first."
Castellanos played through patella tendonitis in his left knee after landing awkwardly making a catch in right field at Yankee Stadium in late-July. Now that the season is over, Castellanos was asked whether the knee maybe bothered him more than he had let on publicly.
"I mean, it's good enough that I can play, but to say it's non-existent, I'd be lying," Castellanos said.
...back to his future.
It was particularly important to ask Castellanos himself, because he acts as his own agent. Castellanos was previously a Scott Boras client, but explained to On Pattison during Spring Training why he elected last summer to start serving as his own agent.
Nick Castellanos explains why he chose to represent himself.
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/Mo6dbQisqI
Castellanos, it would be fair to say, had a tumultuous 2025 season.
He was benched for a game in June after making what manager Rob Thomson called "an inappropriate comment" when he lifted Castellanos for a defensive replacement.
When asked in September about whether he understood why he wasn't playing as frequently as he typically had, Castellanos said that “I don’t really talk to Rob all that often … communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience.”
Nick Castellanos was asked if he understands why he hasn’t played as often.
“I don’t really talk to Rob all that often … Communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience.”
(via @GraceDelPizzo) pic.twitter.com/ucqEiWadSL
Could Castellanos and Thomson co-exist for another season? That's a fair question to ask. Following another disappointing postseason, Thomson's future as manager — for the first time since he got the job in June of 2022 — is really in question. But it would hardly be unreasonable to wonder whether Castellanos and the Phillies will be headed for a breakup this offseason regardless of who is the skipper for the team in 2026.
According to FanGraphs, Castellanos' minus-0.6 WAR was the worst mark among all qualified position players in baseball this past season. Though he didn't make an error in over 1,200 innings in right field this past season, that isn't always the best metric to evaluate outfielders by because it doesn't take into account balls that they didn't get to. Castellanos finished the season with minus-11 defensive runs saved and minus-12 outs above average, both the worst marks among qualified outfielders. Whether Thomson is the manager or not, the Phillies might not be inclined to give a full-time role to Castellanos in 2026 with his defensive shortcomings, especially considering he also hit just .250 with a .694 OPS in 147 games.
It may be that the Phillies wind up eating a significant chunk of the $20 million that Castellanos is owed in 2026 — the final season of a five-year/$100 million contract — to facilitate a trade. A change of scenery might be best for everyone involved.
