Nick Castellanos, the newest addition to the Padres’ spring training camp in San Diego, stirred things up after openly praising their NL West rival. The timing didn’t go over well with Padres fans, who felt the comments couldn’t have come at a worse moment. Before even playing his first official game in brown and gold, the veteran outfielder has already found himself at the center of controversy.

Nick began by highlighting that the Dodgers have tapped into the global market by roping in Shohei Ohtani. He praised the strategic vision of the LA team, saying, “They have the ability to establish themselves as a global superpower like Earth’s baseball team.” 

He seemed really impressed by their willingness to invest heavily in roster-building. Castellanos capped it with the eye-catching claim that because of these moves, “everybody in Asia is a Dodgers fan.”

That’s a bold observation coming from someone who just joined their direct NL West rival after leaving the Phillies. Needless to say, his comments on their ‘enemies up north’ rubbed the Padres fans the wrong way. 

But Nick Castellanos isn’t blindly cheering for the Dodgers. He is observing their model analytically rather than empirically. That’s why he believes it to be effective for winning and appropriate for brand growth. And if that is wrong, Nick isn’t the only guilty party here.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Just about two weeks ago, Manny Machado, one of his current Padres teammates, offered even stronger praise for the Dodgers’ high roller attitude. 

“I f–king love it,” Machado said. “I think every team has the ability to do it. So, I hope all 30 teams could learn from it.”

Another Padres star echoed the same thoughts shortly after. Fernando Tatis Jr. said, “If you want to go and win it all, that’s just the right way to do it.”

Even Bryce Harper, his former teammate from the Phillies, spoke highly of the Dodgers. “They run their team like a business, and they run it the right way,” he analyzed.

Although there isn’t exactly a riot among the San Diego loyalists against any of these comments. Several Padres fans did voice their frustration with Nick’s comments, especially considering the heated rivalry and his recent arrival.

Padres fans already want Nick Castellanos out

“Southern California & Asia are not the entire earth.  The rest of the earth HATES the Dodgers.  Castellanos is clueless as usual.  Hope the Padres cut him,” a fan wrote.

This seems to be a typical Padres’ response. San Diego is in southern California, while Ohtani is from the Asian continent. That’s why he agrees only with these parts, emphasizing that everyone else hates the LA side.

For a regular Padre loyalist, praising the Dodgers is indeed clueless, given the rivalry. But cutting him out of the team might be a bit harsh. 

“Somebody needs to give Nick the same talk Mason Miller got when he arrived on the Padres,” another user took a soft dig. 

Mason Miller joined the Padres in mid-2025 and appeared in an interview shortly after. He revealed that the team quickly laid down the law about the intense NL West rivalry. The fan was simply irked with Nick being oblivious to the same. 

“Great first impression for the Padre,” wrote another. The sarcasm highlights that Castellanos is either uninitiated or isn’t at all concerned regarding the anti-Dodgers stance.

“Bro secretly wishes the Dodgers signed him instead. 🤣” read another comment. Whether he actually wanted to go to LA and regretted arriving at San Diego is unfounded. But it might be the easiest conclusion from a disappointed fan’s perspective. 

“‘Everyone in Asia is dodgers fan’ is not even true” was the most factual reply on the post. In truth, very few people follow baseball or MLB in Asia.

The highest popularity is in Japan, due to Baseball being their national sport. Some fans are found in South Korea and Taiwan as well. For most other countries out of the dozens on the continent, baseball fans are almost nonexistent.

Nick Castellanos’ praise for the Dodgers’ global reach and huge spending echoed his teammates’ views. But it actually highlighted a pragmatic player perspective on big-market success.

For many Padres fans, the timing felt like a betrayal given the fierce rivalry in the NL West. However, their sarcastic digs, pointed backlash, and factual jabs simply show the raw loyalty of the Padres Nation. 

The controversy will certainly fade away once the games start. Nick Castellanos will have the real test then. And it will be his performance, not words, that will decide his San Diego legacy.