Nick

Castellanos

Castellanos is in the starting lineup for the first time as a member of the Padres. The 34-year-old vet will get the nod over Miguel Andujar, who will head to the bench against Jack Flaherty and the Detroit bullpen.

The Padres went with lefty Gavin Sheets at first base and Miguel Andujar at DH against Tarik Skubal on Thursday. Tonight, they’re switching to Ty France at first base and sticking with Andujar against Framber Valdez. It’s definitely not good looking for Castellanos, who flew out in his lone at-bat off the bench Thursday. The Padres have no financial obligation to him beyond paying him the MLB minimum, and with all being defensively limited right-handers, it just wouldn’t make much sense to keep all three of Andujar, Castellanos and France around for the long haul.

It’s not a complete surprise, but it is confirmation that Andujar, not Castellanos, will begin the season as the primary designated hitter. Andujar hit just .220/.305/.420 in spring, but he did have three home runs and a manageable strikeout rate. He’s a career .282 hitter in 467 MLB games and could have some deep league fantasy value if he’s going to hit in the middle of the Padres’ lineup. The rest of the Opening Day lineup is: Fernando Tatis RF, Xander Bogaerts SS, Manny Machado 3B, Jackson Merrill CF, Miguel Andujar DH, Gavin Sheets 1B, Ramon Laureano LF, Freddy Fermin C, and Jake Cronenworth 2B.

Castellanos delivered a run-scoring single off of Ben Brown in the third inning, increasing the Padres’ lead to 2-0. He’s off to a nice start with his new ballclub, hitting .333 (7-for-21) with a homer and six RBI while proving that he can be at least a capable defender at first base.

Castellanos went deep against White Sox lefty Sean Newcomb in the third inning for his first long ball of the spring. He’s made the conversion to first base look relatively smooth and appears to have a decent shot at breaking camp with the Padres in a bench role as a southpaw-mashing specialist.

The first base experiment has gone swimmingly for both San Diego and Castellanos during the early stages of camp. The 33-year-old veteran doesn’t offer a ton of fantasy appeal at this stage of his career but he makes sense as a platoon partner with righty-masher Gavin Sheets at the cold corner and could pry some at-bats away from Miguel Andujar at DH, especially if he gets off to a hot start at the dish.

With the Phillies picking up the tab on his salary, the Padres are only obligated to pay him the league minimum in 2026. He’ll get an opportunity to play first base as well as spend time in the corner outfield for the Padres where he’ll add another legitimate right-handed bat to the middle of the lineup. Entering his age-34 season, Castellanos could be a decent source of RBIs in NL-only leagues, but probably doesn’t merit a permanent roster spot in most mixed leagues.

The Padres already have Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Ramon Laureano in the outfield, so this makes some sense. Castellanos has not played first base before, but he certainly has the frame for it, and it’s unlikely that he’d be much worse than Luis Arraez, who put up a -6 Outs Above Average in 993 innings at first base for San Diego last year. Castellanos could play first base against left-handed pitchers while Gavin Sheets shifts to the bench. As a result, it may take Castellanos a while to earn first base eligibility in fantasy leagues, if he does at all.

It figures to be a major league deal at the minimum, since the Phillies are already on the hook for the rest of the $20 million that Castellanos is owed. Castellanos seems kind of redundant with Miguel Andujar, another right-handed bat who shouldn’t do much other than DH, but the Padres can stick one in the field against lefties. Castellanos probably has the better chance of emerging as the regular DH.

The Phillies had been trying to trade the 33-year-old outfielder in order to get some cost savings on the $20 million that he’s owed for 2026, but finding no takers it sounds like they’ll just part ways instead. Castellanos hit .250/.294/.400 with 17 homers, 72 RBI and four stolen bases in 589 plate appearances during the 2025 season. It shouldn’t take him long to find work elsewhere, especially with the Phillies picking up the tab on his salary.