The San Diego Padres designated outfielder Nick Castellanos for assignment Wednesday, bringing a brief experiment to an unceremonious end.It was less than four months ago that the Philadelphia Phillies released Castellanos in an unusually public divorce. The Padres signed him three days later for $780,000, with the Phillies paying the rest of his $20 million salary. The 34-year-old has now been cast aside during his Philadelphia homecoming, clouding his big-league future.Desperate for even marginal improvements, the Padres selected the contract of outfielder-second baseman Samad Taylor in Wednesday’s corresponding move. Castellanos, serving as a part-time player for the first time in his career, hit .191 with a .560 OPS in 39 games with San Diego. Among 310 players with at least 100 plate appearances, his minus-0.8 fWAR ranked 306th.
Taylor is the second player to go from Triple-A El Paso to the Padres this week, joining outfielder Jase Bowen, who made his big-league debut in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Phillies. Taylor, 27, hit .319 with a .906 OPS in 51 games with El Paso. He appeared in 38 big-league games with the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners over the past three seasons, hitting .205 with a .532 OPS.Despite a big-name lineup, the Padres have lost seven of their past eight games and underperformed throughout this season, ranking 30th in batting average and 29th in OPS. Their search for competent at-bats led to increased playing time last month for Castellanos, an accomplished hitter and one of the majors’ weakest defenders.Soon, it became evident that Castellanos would not provide the desired spark. In 20 May games, he hit .217 with three home runs, one walk and 17 strikeouts.The Phillies acknowledged Castellanos on Tuesday night by dedicating a between-innings promotional segment sponsored by Chick-fil-A to show highlights of the right fielder’s sliding catches during the 2022 postseason. The scoreboard then showed Castellanos, who tipped his cap to some applause. Late in the game, a smattering of fans near the dugout chanted, “We want Casty!” Castellanos did not appear in the game on what would be his final night with the Padres.
