The San Diego Padres are facing some difficult roster decisions in the near future. That has seemed to be more of an issue with the questions in the starting rotation. Griffin Canning and Lucas Giolito’s returns to the mound feel inevitable at this point, meaning that two of the current starters will have to be sent down.
That duo will likely be Walker Buehler and Matt Waldron, who have both struggled to begin the year. Germán Márquez has pitched well enough (and has a better track record at the big-league level) to earn a spot in the Padres’ starting rotation for the time being. But that’s not the only problem that general manager A.J. Preller has to deal with. The other goes by the name of Nick Castellanos.
Nick Castellanos: Odd Man Out for Padres?
A Dismal Debut in San Diego
The Padres signed Castellanos to a minor-league deal this offseason. That came after the career corner outfielder was released by the Philadelphia Phillies somewhat contentiously after problems with his attitude in the clubhouse became an issue last season. There were reports that Preller had been trying to trade for Castellanos, though he and the Phillies could never land on a deal that worked. That ended with Castellanos being paid the $20 million to play for the Padres, though the Friars were only paying him the league minimum of $780,000.
That seemed like a great deal for San Diego. Castellanos had always been known for his bat and his ability to slug 20-or-so home runs a year. It would be good to have him around in a bench capacity. But it hasn’t worked out as planned. Instead, Castellanos has opened the year with an abysmal .164/.220/.273 slash line with an even worse .493 OPS mark.
His defense hasn’t been much better. Though he’s had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage between first base and the corner outfield positions, his subpar glove has shown itself in other ways. Plays that regular corner outfielders like Ramón Laureano and Fernando Tatis Jr. may have been able to make have been (though not without some hustle) have been botched by Castellanos.
Hope for a Turnaround?
If this all sounds as if this writer is a Castellanos hater, that is not the case. More than anything else, it would be incredible to see Castellanos break out and slug for the Padres. But that simply hasn’t happened…yet.
This week’s series against the Chicago Cubs showed some promise. Castellanos delivered in a big way in two clutch moments to keep San Diego in the game. In the series opener, he drove in a go-ahead, two-run single. In the third game, he punched a two-run moonshot into left field to tie the game. It was his first homer in a Padres uniform.
So, while Castellanos hasn’t looked great to start the year, he could finally be coming around. In this recent Cubs series, he went 2-for-7, batting .286 with four RBI. If Castellanos’ bat continues to look more like that, it’ll be easy to keep him on the roster.
Nick Castellanos ties the game with his first @Padres home run! pic.twitter.com/ZIxgwmd69L
— MLB (@MLB) April 29, 2026
A Lack of MLB-Ready Options in Triple-A
The other problem with taking Castellanos off the roster is that there are not an abundance of options to supplant him on the bench. Only two jump out, but neither has seen significant time (or success) at the big-league level.
Outfielders Jase Bowen and Samad Taylor both had a fantastic spring training. Had it not been for an already-crowded bench picture, both likely would have been carried onto the 26-man roster for Opening Day. That being said, they might soon earn a call-up to Petco Park.
The two have been stat leaders for Triple-A El Paso for most of this season. Bowen is slugging, leading the Chihuahuas with seven home runs (fourth-most in the Pacific Coast League) with a .286/.336/.600 slash line. Taylor has been hitting more for average, slashing .337/.421/.630, but he still has six long balls on the season. That’s led to him leading the club with a 1.051 OPS.
But, once again, the problem is that neither of them has yet found success at the major-league level. In fact, Bowen has not even made his major league debut yet. Still, both are much better defensive players in the outfield than Castellanos is, so they could replace him eventually if he continues to struggle into May.
Main Photo Credit: © David Frerker-Imagn Images
