Manny Machado said the San Diego Padres weren't expecting Nick Castellanos to be cut from the roster.
Apr 6, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado and designated hitter Nick Castellanos celebrate after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Castellanos was hitting .191 with an OPS of .560 across 39 games. He had some timely hits and played a big role in the clubhouse, but that wasn't enough to keep him in San Diego. Now back home after a rough road trip, Manny Machado was asked about the team's decision to DFA Castellanos, who he's known since childhood. He"It was tough," Machado said.
"Obviously he was a big part of our team. He ingrained himself pretty well in here with the group of guys that we had.
""Obviously the news caught everybody by surprise," he said. "I don't really try to put myself in a GM's shoes and know why they're doing the decisions. Obviously we just care about Nick and what he meant to us in the clubhouse. Castellanos is a two-time All-Star and a former Silver Slugger winner, and was expected to lengthen the San Diego lineup.
So, with the Padres paying him just the veteran's minimum, the team decided to move on from him after a few months. Manager Craig Stammen said the team was hoping to“We’ve been talking a little bit about our roster and the flexibility that we’d like to have with the bench — maybe a little bit more speed, little bit more dynamic players,” Stammen said.
“With our last two guys we brought up … we got a little bit more element of speed, some defense, some versatility that we can use on the bench. " “We’re not changing the core of what our offense is," he added. "The goal of the offense is to score more runs than what we’ve been scoring. I know that’s going to happen.
Just trying to change it up a little bit, see if maybe that’s the right formula to get kick-started a little bit, get this offense going a little bit. Get our team going a little bit. Friday's series opener against the New York Mets with a team OPS of .651 and batting average of .216. Both of them rank dead last in Major League Baseball.
Noah Camras graduated from the University of Southern California in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in sports media studies. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and has extensively covered Southern California sports in his career. Noah is the publisher of Padres on SI after contributing as a writer and editor over the last three years.
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