Miami native Nick Castellanos was heavily linked to the Marlins when he was a free agent during the 2021-22 offseason. Castellanos told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb earlier this week that he very nearly agreed to join the team before the lockout halted winter business in early December 2021.
“If I wasn’t advised to be patient and wait until after the lockout to sign, I would have been over there,” Castellanos said.
Instead, the Marlins’ plans changed during the freeze, with some reports tying Derek Jeter’s departure as club CEO to ownership’s decision to not expand the payroll quite so much once the lockout was settled. That meant Castellanos was now without his top suitor, until he signed with the Phillies for a five-year, $100M deal.
Castellanos admitted that it took a while to get over the disappointment of not playing in his hometown, a “dream” scenario that would’ve allowed him to be near his son Liam at all times, and play for one of his baseball heroes in Jeter. This feeling may have contributed to Castellanos’ lackluster numbers for much of the 2022 season, but the Phillies’ run to the World Series reinvigorated him and the outfielder delivered a more productive season this year.
“I can never sit and say I am unfortunate because I’m blessed and I get to play here,” he said. “I get to play for a great organization. I get to play with one of the most intense fan bases in the sports world. I have so much gratitude for all of that.”
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