Aug 3, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos runs to third base against the Detroit Tigers at Citizens Bank Park. (Grace Del Pizzo/On Pattison)
Following his release from the Phillies on Thursday afternoon, Nick Castellanos took to Instagram to set the record straight.
Minutes before the Phillies publicly announced his release, Castellanos shared a goodbye message to the Phillies and to the city of Philadelphia:
"John (Middleton), thank you for what you have provided my family with.
"Dave (Dombrowski), thank you for the opportunity.
"Staff, thank you for helping me prepare.
"PACO (Figueroa)!! 414 is just as much yours as it is mine. You are the man in any room you walk into.
"My teammates. I love you guys. Te quiero mucho!! Playing with you all will be a core memory for the rest of my life.
"To the people of the city. Thank you for showing up these past four years. Applauding or booing, you were there. Remember!! The sharp attention and powerful passion you have for your sports teams are not married to the lens of media companies that cover them. The color of your collective soul is your own to paint... together.
"Above all, thank you for embracing Liam the way you did. For that I can never repay.
"To all who are reading, I wish you strong health & peace of mind. Nicholas"
In Castellanos' four years in Philadelphia, he reached the playoffs in all four, playing in the NLCS twice and the World Series once. Especially in the 2023 playoffs, Castellanos made his mark on the city, hitting home runs that will forever be remembered. From his letter, he holds no hard feelings toward the city or Phillies fans.
In the same post, that handwritten goodbye message was followed by one and a half pages of Castellanos explaining the "Miami Incident." As a refresher, Castellanos was benched in Miami last June for what manager Rob Thomson referred to as an "inappropriate comment." All that was said at the time was that Castellanos, a Miami native, made the comment after he was removed late in the game in favor of a defensive replacement.
Castellanos decided to clarify the situation himself. Here is his statement:
"Ok, apparently I need to address the Miami Incident. As one of my friends on the team has informed me, there is an article waiting to come out without my consent or comments about this situation. So I'm going to just share myself.
"As a veteran of the game of baseball there are rules and I broke one in Miami. After being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family I brought a presedente (sic) into the dugout. I then sat right next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others are not condusive (sic) to us winning. Shoutout to my teammates and Howie (Kendrick) for taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip. (I appreciate you guys).
"After the game, I went into the office with Dave & Rob. We aired out our differences and the conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me. I would like to note, that I was ready to share the details of the incident in its entirety to the media the next day but was instructed not to by management. The punishment I received for my actions was the benching the following game.
"I love this game, I love being a teammate and I am addicted to winning. I will learn from this."
Castellanos revealed quite a few things in that statement. First, he absolutely broke a rule by bringing a beer into the dugout. MLB expressly forbids alcohol in the dugout, and it's a good thing his teammates and Howie Kendrick took it away from him.
It's interesting that Thomson and the Phillies chose to say that Castellanos was being disciplined for an inappropriate comment, rather than a rule infraction; it's also notable that "management" instructed Castellanos not to share the details with the media when he was fully prepared to do so. Instead, the nebulous "Miami Incident" – and the speculation that arose from the lack of clarity – hung over the heads of both Castellanos and Thomson for the rest of the 2025 season.
Either way, the long-awaited divorce between Castellanos and the Phillies has finally come to fruition. Now the two sides can go their separate ways, and Castellanos can turn the page with a new ballclub.
