4 Potential Landing Spots for New Free Agent Nick Castellanos

It was an entire offseason in the making. The divorce between the Philadelphia Phillies and outfielder Nick Castellanos. It finally happened on Thursday, when the Phillies released him, and will eat the final $20M on his contract for this season.

Why they waited until the start of spring training, however, instead of giving the 13-year veteran the offseason to find a new home, isnt' a great look.

if there's one criticism of the Phillies here- its on Dombrowski. Nobody was ever going to trade for Castellanos. Releasing him back in December would have potentially earned some good will for him to have more time to find a new team.
— Kevin Cooney (@KevinCooney) February 12, 2026

However, it's believed there is a fair bit of interest out there for a hitter who has topped the 20-HR mark six times in his career, with a lifetime 250 homers, a .272 average and a .785 OPS.

Castellanos will be 34 next month, so certainly his best days are not ahead of him, but he could still be a piece for a number of teams, whether as an outfielder or a DH. Let's take a look at four potential landing spots.

Cincinnati Reds

The slugger spent two successful years with the Reds, including the best season of his career (.309, 34 HR, 100 RBIs, .939 OPS) in 2021. But Cinci went out and signed Eugenio Suarez to a free agent deal last week to fill their need for one more power bat. Would that preclude them from having interest in their former All-Star?

San Diego Padres

The Friars' signing of Miguel Andujar to be their DH can't inspire the most confidence in followers of the team. Yes, he had a nice 27-HR season back in 2018. But he has only 26 homers TOTAL in the seven years since then. He's honed a nice batting eye for himself, batting .318 last season and .285 the year before in partial seasons. But if the Padres are looking for more power, Castellanos might be a better add.

Cleveland Guardians

As noted by Josh Davis in Clutch Points, the Guardians' need for an offensive boost is dire. They finished 28th in the majors in runs scored, and their offense out of right field last season was the worst in MLB, with a .605 OPS, a .202 average and only 13 homers. Castellanos can address some of that. Defensively, however, it's more of a challenge keeping him on the field. He could fill a DH role as well, another area that Cleveland needs help in.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays just learned that Anthony Santander will miss most of the 2026 season due to shoulder surgery, which probably led insider Jon Heyman to suggest that they might have interest in a power bat like Castellanos. However, his league-worst defense in the outfield (via analytics), would mean that he would only DH in Toronto. That's a spot that George Springer will need to occupy for most of the season. Doesn't sound like a natural fit.