Things couldn’t get more embarrassing than this for Nick Castellanos. After his infamous beef with the Phillies, he was released and started 2026 with the Padres. With the Padres, he entered the Citizens Bank Park and recalled his last 4 years. However, his .191 average might have proved far less appealing for the Padres as they designated Castellanos for assignment, that too in the middle of their series against the Phillies.

“We 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,” the Padres shared via X.

After spending 4 seasons with the Phillies, Castellanos signed with the Padres for one year. But his 4 HRs so far at .191 were far behind his .250 season last year. Still, Castellanos was satisfied with how he was getting dealt in San Diego. Quite ironically, Castellanos had high praise for the Padres Front office. “The front office consistently asks me questions about how I see things, and when they talk to me, it’s straight — which is great, because then I know what’s up,” he said about the differences between the Phillies and Padres, per MLB.com’s Paul Casella.

However, his 39 games with the Padres went rough, and his 34 SOs, despite not being an everyday player, depict his struggle at the plate. The Phillies visited San Diego last week, where Castellanos could manage only one hit from 8 at-bats. Still, while the Padres can designate a player owing to his rough phase, the timing is what made the fans go berserk.

Currently, the Padres in Philadelphia are leading the series 1-0. After the first game, Castellanos took a dig at the Phillies front office for stripping him off without a proper communication. “My phone was on,” Castellanos said via the New York Post on Tuesday. “All they needed was a conversation like, ‘This is going to be your role.’ Apparently, they thought it was just best for the organization that my personality wasn’t in the clubhouse.”

Call it a coincidence or not, the Padres just repeated the same with Castellanos and let him go straight from the Citizens Bank Park.

The Padres are now calling up Samad Taylor from the minors, who is coming off with a .319/.406/.500 slash line with the Triple-A squad. Time will answer if the Padres’ decision was right, but the embarrassment that happened to Castellanos is what makes the fans leave fuming with the Padres.

The Padres fans are left unimpressed with Nick Castellanos’ move

Fans can’t agree on how the Padres pulled off the stunt in the most embarrassing manner. “Thank you for doing this against the Phillies to extra embarrass him,” one fan took a sarcastic dig. “Definitely classless. Wait a few days. Love how every interview, Casty raves about how honest and upfront the SD front office has been compared to Philly. Too funny lol,” another agrees.

“It’s a veteran baseball team. They don’t cut corners as far as what they do to prepare and win. And also, what reputation they have for how they treat their players and how they have their backs. Even if something goes a little bit awry, they still stand with them, and they don’t deviate from their commitment to them as a person,” Castellanos said on joining the Padres. And since then, he couldn’t stop praising his new team.

So, while the fans agree with Castellanos’ struggle, the Padres could still wait for the Phillies series to end to designate him.

The Padres have players who are struggling even more than Nick Castellanos. So, why are they not designated? Fans wonder. “HOW DID CASTELLANOS LEAVE BEFORE FREDDY FUCKING FERMIN?” One fan asks. “Damn, that’s cold lol. It should have been Freddy, but hey, what do we know,” another added.

Freddy Fermin is hitting .130 and has yet to score a homer this season. Last year, he scored just 2 homers with the Padres after the trade deadline. It is worse than what Castellanos was doing. Thus, the fans wonder what made the Padres make a move with Castellanos and not Fermin. According to ESPN, Fermin recorded a strong Range Factor (RF) at 9.42, which may be a reason for the Padres to retain him.

“Damn, didn’t even let him start against the Phillies; that’s cold,” one user remarked. Castellanos was benched in the first game against the Phillies. So, while he visited the Citizens Bank Park, Castellanos could hit the plate. The Padres benched him and then designated him. Ironically, Castellanos’ next stint after the Phillies also ended in the same city.