Nick Castellanos’ time with the Philadelphia Phillies has come to an end, and he has finally addressed the infamous “Miami Incident.”
Castellanos was released by the Phillies, the team announced on Thursday. The move had been anticipated, especially after a report said the team was blocking Castellanos from their spring training facilities.
Castellanos, who is turning 34, had been with the Phillies for the last four seasons. But things turned sour with Castellanos and the Phillies last season after he got bent out of shape following a benching.
Following his release by the Phillies on Thursday, Castellanos posted photos to his Instagram account of a handwritten note. In the note, Castellanos thanked many people from the Phillies. He also addressed what happened in Miami and admitted he brought a beer into the team’s dugout, though he said he was grateful to have had people on the team stop him from drinking it.
Castellanos says that he wanted to address the incident with the media, but the Phillies had advised him at the time not to.
Castellanos also said that he had talked at the time with Phillies manager Rob Thomson to effectively give criticism and feedback to the manager.
Castellanos said he let Thomson “know that too much slack in some areas and to (sic) tight of restrictions in others are not conducive to us winning.”
Castellanos seems to be interested in continuing his playing career. He batted .250 with a .694 OPS last season, though he had a negative WAR, suggesting he was less valuable than your average replacement player.
