Padres Finally Untangle Themselves From Nick Castellanos, Hand Samad Taylor Another MLB Lifeline

[Steve Drumwright]

The Nick Castellanos experience has come to an end for the San Diego Padres.

Castellanos, an outfielder, was designated for assignment Wednesday by the Padres. Infielder-outfielder Samad Taylor had his contract selected from Triple-A El Paso. Being DFA'd is the first step toward releasing a player. He must clear waivers before that can happen. Castellanos could also be claimed off waivers by another team or the Padres could trade him.

Castellanos didn't play in Tuesday's series opener on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies, the team that released him as spring training was set to begin and was due to make $20 million this season as the final year of a five-year, $100 million contract. The 34-year-old quickly latched on with the Padres, who only had to pay him the MLB minimum salary after the Phillies dumped him.

In 39 games this season, Castellanos had a slash line of .191/.221/.339 with four homers and 20 RBIs. His biggest moment with the Padres came May 20, when he hit a game-tying homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning against St. Louis Cardinals star closer Riley O'Brien in what would be a 3-2 victory in 10 innings.

But the entire Padres offense is struggling and Castellanos' lack of production and positional versatility along with a recent injury to left fielder Ramon Laureano prompted this move. The Padres are last in MLB in batting average at .218 and 29th in OPS at .656.

Originally expected to get time at first base, a position he had never played at the MLB level, Castellanos only made two starts at the position due to the production from Gavin Sheets and Ty France.

The right-handed slugger, with 254 career homers and a .781 career OPS, struggled early in the season in his new role as a part-time player. He seemed to come around a bit with more consistent playing time in May due to Jake Cronenworth's concussion, which led to right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. shifting to second base. Castellanos made 18 starts in right field and four in left, with only seven at designated hitter, a role he seemed more suited for with the other personnel the Padres had on the roster.

Taylor has appeared in 38 games in the majors with the Kansas City Royals (31 games in 2023) and Seattle Mariners (seven games the last two years). He produced a .205/.272/.260 slash line with no homers and four RBIs along with eight steals in as many chances. At Triple-A El Paso this year, Taylor had slashed .319/.406/.500 with seven homers, 25 RBIs and nine stolen bases in 10 attempts. He also had seven doubles and three triples in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

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