Nick Castellanos was released Thursday as training camps across MLB were getting started, the team announced.
Castellanos was benched late last season for making what Phillies manager Rob Thomson described as “an inappropriate comment” after he was pulled for a defensive replacement. Castellanos said in September that communication with Thomson had been “questionable, at least in my experience.”
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the team has been talking to other clubs about Castellanos.
“That’s our focus prior to the start of spring training,” Dombrowski said Monday. “So that’s something that we’ll continue to work on this week.”
Castellanos, who turns 34 on March 4, hit .250 with 17 homers and 72 RBIs in 147 games for the NL East champions last year. He was going into the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract.
Adolis García is expected to replace Castellanos in right field after he signed a $10 million, one-year contract with Philadelphia in December.
The Phillies’ pitchers and catchers are slated to have their first spring training workout on Wednesday. The team’s first full-squad workout is scheduled for next Monday.
