MLB Rumors: Top 3 Trade Destinations For Nick Castellanos
.jpg "Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos reacts during 2025 game.")
Castellanos can still run into mistakes, but his 2025 line of .250/.294/.400 with 17 homers and 72 RBI is not enough to justify the full freight, especially with his defense trending the wrong way.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh keeps popping up because the Pirates need impact bats and they have been connected to Castellanos interest already, with Jon Heyman reporting the club has shown trade interest.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers even floated a simple blueprint: an in state swap where Philadelphia eats most of the contract, something like $15 million of the $20 million owed, to make it a pure buy low add for a Pirates lineup that finished near the bottom of baseball offensively last season.
ESPN predicted the Pittsburgh Pirates will trade for Nick Castellanos while also mentioning the Phillies would take on most of his contract.
— Kody Duncan (@KodyDuncanPGH) January 25, 2026
They also predicted the Pirates would sign Eugenio Suarez for 2 years $42 million dollars.
Honestly sign me up for both.
If the price is basically salary relief, Pittsburgh gets a right handed power threat who owns a career .785 OPS with 250 homers, plus the kind of veteran edge that plays well in a park like PNC when he is locked in.
San Diego Padres
Ken Rosenthal has pointed to the San Diego Padres hunting for an inexpensive right handed bat, and Castellanos has reportedly been taking ground balls at first base as a possible way to keep his bat in the lineup while limiting the outfield damage.
The upside pitch is easy: this is a two time All Star who won a Silver Slugger and mashed 34 homers in 2021, and he was still an All Star level run producer as recently as 2023 with 29 homers and 106 RBI.
The Padres were reportedly in on Nolan Arenado. That makes me wonder who else they could be in on. A guy in a similar situation - veteran salary dump - could be Nick Castellanos. Not exciting, I know, but a possible Arenado comp. pic.twitter.com/Uw4vbzJghi
— Xannie Heilbro (@JB_Rad619) January 20, 2026
If the Phillies cover most of the salary, the Padres get a short term swing at bounce back offense without committing beyond 2026.
Miami Marlins
Miami makes sense on a more personal level, since it has been mentioned as a potential return home scenario, but the Marlins angle depends on how much money Philadelphia is willing to carry and whether Miami wants to dedicate playing time to a veteran coming off a down year.
With a Nick Castellanos trade being almost a certainty at this point.
— SleeperPhillies (@SleeperPhillies) January 26, 2026
What team do you think provides the best fit for Casty? pic.twitter.com/TW20o4wABV
The sell for the Marlins is that Castellanos is motivated in a contract year and has real postseason experience, and the buy in is easier if the Phillies treat it like a payroll dump rather than trying to win the trade in prospects.
Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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