If the writing wasn’t already on the wall, it became crystal clear earlier this week when the Phillies reportedly signed Adolis Garcia that Nick Castellanos’ days as a Phillie are over. Matt Gelb of the Athletic reiterated that sentiment after the Garcia news broke on Monday.
It was a tumultuous time in Philadelphia for Castellanos to say the least, but it looks almost
certain that one way or another, he will not be playing in Philadelphia in 2026, no matter the fact that he is still owed $20M in the final year of his contract. The Phillies have reportedly been trying to move off of Castellanos’ contract as far back as 2023, but he ended up playing four of the five years of his deal signed before the 2022 season.
Obviously, moving on from Castellanos will not be easy. The Phillies will be on the hook for most if not all of his 2026 salary regardless of what happens. They will either have to pay down much of it while attaching a decent prospect to move him in a trade, or they will have to just eat the money entirely and release him. If they are somehow able to find a trade partner, they shouldn’t expect much of anything in return. All signs point to this divorce coming via a release.
So, with that out of the way, now we can move on to the question of where will Castellanos be playing baseball in 2026 if it isn’t with the Phillies. Miami has been one of the first places to come up when this question is posed, as Castellanos is a south Florida native and he supposedly almost signed with the Marlins in 2022 before ending up with the Phillies. The Marlins could use some offense, as they were middle of the pack in runs scored and OPS in 2026.
Miami currently has Agustin Ramirez and Griffin Conine penciled in at designated hitter and right field respectively for Opening Day, not exactly encouraging options. Ramirez however is only 24 and is entering his second year in MLB, while Conine posted league average numbers in 24 games in 2025 and won’t turn 28 until July. As of right now, it’s hard to envision the Marlins trading for Castellanos and possibly displacing one of these younger pieces, especially after they reportedly agreed to terms with 1B/DH Christopher Morel.
Beyond that connection to Miami, any other prediction for where Castellanos could play in 2026 is purely throwing darts. Maybe a team like the Twins or the Pirates acquires him in the hopes he could be flipped at the trade deadline? Maybe the Guardians see if they can squeeze some usefulness out of him on the cheap to try and help their anemic offense? It’s pure guess work at this point.
Of course, there’s also the option that Castellanos doesn’t play anywhere. It seems unlikely, as for all of his faults, Castellanos still could potentially help a team. But it can’t be ruled out either, as he is now a below average hitter who graded out as among the worst fielders at any position in 2025 and will turn 34 before Opening Day. If he were to find another team, Castellanos would likely have to accept that he can no longer play the field and may not be an everyday starter, two things he was very reluctant to accept in Philadelphia. It could potentially lead to Castellanos sitting around well into the season looking for an opportunity.
So, where will Nick Castellanos be playing in 2026?
