The San Diego Padres lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2, on Wednesday and moved to 32-28 on the year.The Padres finally mustered a run against Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez in the seventh inning, but it wasn't enough as Jason Adam allowed a go-ahead home run in the bottom half of the inning.The Padres are now 0-5 against the Phillies over the last 10 days.Ahead of Wednesday's game, the Padres made a surprise move, designating veteran Nick Castellanos for assignment.The move came out of nowhere, but also was a long time coming given Castellanos' struggles this season.The two-time All-Star hit just .191 with four home runs, 20 RBIs and an OPS of .560 this year. He also was one of the game's worst defenders, with negative-4 Outs Above Average.Nevertheless, Castellanos was a great clubhouse presence, and manager Craig Stammen admitted it was difficult to see him go.“Nick's such a pro,” Stammen said. “I've really enjoyed having him here in San Diego. We had conversations with him when we signed him that he was going to earn his playing time, and it was probably going to be a different role for him. It wasn't going to be an everyday role that he was accustomed to for the last 12-15 years, his entire life playing baseball.“I think that was definitely something that was tough for him. It was tough for him to transition from playing every single day to playing two days, then two days off."The Padres called up utility man Samad Taylor in Castellanos' place to add some speed and defensive versatility to the bench. Across 51 games at Triple-A this year, Taylor hit .319 with seven home runs, 25 RBIs, nine stolen bases and an OPS of .906.While the move made sense on paper, it wasn't one that Manny Machado took kindly.The leader of the Padres wasn't happy with the team's decision, and took responsibility for their offensive struggles.“The issue is not Nick,” Machado said. “I don’t think that was the move to try to make this offense better. For us to get to where we want to get to, it’s going to take the big guys in the middle of the order to swing the bats hot, and we’re not doing that right now.”In other news, the Padres were named the biggest surprise of May by an MLB analyst. San Diego was somehow able to win games with the best three hitters in their lineup — Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill — all struggling.As of late, though, the Padres have been unable to put together wins.Here’s more information on these stories and all the latest Padres news (click the headline for the full article):Padres Cut Ties With Nick Castellanos Amid Series vs Phillies in Shocking MovePadres' Manny Machado Not Happy With Nick Castellanos Getting CutPadres Named Biggest Surprise of May by MLB AnalystPadres' Nick Castellanos Discusses Interactions With Phillies FansPadres Could Get Major Pitching Reinforcement off 60-Day Injured List This MonthPadres Manager Hopes 25-Year-Old Prospect Will 'Ignite' Team After Call-UpPadres Tweets of the DayWhat are your thoughts on the Padres designating Nick Castellanos for assignment amid their series with the Phillies🚨🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/sFi7rOU6mz— Padres On SI (@PadresOnSI) June 3, 2026Run it back. pic.twitter.com/ZTlrLOwfR2— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 3, 2026Action from Jackson. pic.twitter.com/eVqKuzoAsb— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 4, 2026pic.twitter.com/JLFWfYTeaJ— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 3, 2026Let’s get ready to rumble.#VotePadres 5x per day, every day: https://t.co/9jD3qSocSN pic.twitter.com/L4pZV1Hlud— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 3, 2026We have designated 1B/OF Nick Castellanos for assignment and selected the contract of INF/OF Samad Taylor from Triple-A El Paso. Taylor will wear No. 0.— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 3, 2026Guys getting healthy:Ty Adcock off the IL and assigned to El Paso. There are now five active 40-player roster relievers in EP.Blake Hunt came off the 60-day IL yesterday and should take over primary catching duties in EP.Brendan Durfee comes off the IL and joins San Antonio.— MadFriars - The source for Padres Prospects news (@madfriars) June 3, 2026Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow