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Don Mattingly won a batting title and an MVP as a Yankee. He’s a six-time All-Star, a nine-time Gold Glover and even an NL Manager of the Year during his time in Miami.
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Rather than revisit the beef that he had with former Phillies manager Rob Thomson, Nick Castellanos pointed toward his replacement’s resume. The Phillies walked into Petco Park with a 17-8 record since baseball ops chief David Dombrowski fired Thomson after a 9-19 start and installed Mattingly, the team’s bench coach, as the interim manager under general manager Preston Mattingly.
The younger Mattingly got his front office career started with the Padres before joining the Phillies as a farm director in September 2021.
“The decision is not mine to make, but when they put Don into the manager’s seat, my thought was, ‘right man, right spot,'” Castellanos said. “I think the fact that a father gets to work underneath his son is a beautiful thing. I think that baseball is like a personal, family, authentic game. I mean, honestly, what more of an authentic, genuine relationship can you have when you have a father like Don Mattingly and also a son like Preston who I’ve been able to form a relationship over the years and (see) how he goes about his business?
“I think it’s a beautiful thing.”
The 34-year-old Castellanos had talked at length about his departure from the Phillies, who are paying $19.22 million of his $20 million salary after releasing him in spring training. But those conversations had not occurred with the media that follows the Phillies around, so the 14-year veteran was at his locker Monday morning in anticipation of the request.
The ensuing conversation bounced from Castellanos looking forward to seeing his old Phillies teammates, to the team winning a lot but falling short of a World Series title to an unceremonious end of the relationship when he was told not to report to Clearwater, Fla., for the start of spring training.
“Yeah, I told them, like, ‘Hey, I’m coming,’ and I was told not to go,” Castellanos said. “Well, you know, I’m an employee. So if I’m an employee, I’m going. Then make me not an employee, and then I (won’t) go. That’s kind of like the way that it ended up.”
The issue between Castellanos and Thomson stemmed from diminished playing time and Castellanos’ perception of the communication between the two last summer, with Castellanos brining a beer into the dugout after he was replaced on defense late in a game in June. Castellanos also questioned the credibility of Thomson and other coaches who had not played in the majors – like Don Mattingly.
Castellanos did not specifically address his issues with Thomson on Monday, only why being used as a role player in San Diego is working better for him.
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Castellanos entered Monday hitting .190/.225/.352 but has four homers and 19 RBIs while bouncing between first base, DH and both corner outfield spots. He was in right field for the sixth time in seven days on Monday as the Padres have used Fernando Tatis Jr. as the second baseman regularly since Jake Cronenworth’s concussion. Many of those games end with Tatis bouncing out to right field to replace Castellanos on defense if the Padres a protecting a lead late in the game.
“(The Phillies) handled it the way that they handled it and obviously it led to just me being in a tough spot at the end, not really knowing what was up,” Castellanos said. “But at the end of the day, I’m here (in San Diego). I’m in this clubhouse. This staff is great. They’ve really embraced me. I feel like the players have really embraced me. Front office consistently, like, asks me questions about how I see things and when they talk back to me, it’s straight.
“Which is great, because then I know what’s up. I don’t have to think or speculate or (think), ‘What did they really mean by that?'”
Hurdles to clear still
Luis Campusano strapped on the catcher’s gear on Monday afternoon to catch Walker Buehler’s bullpen session, an example of the progress he’s making since hitting in the injured list May 7 with a fractured left big toe.
Campusano is also back to hitting, but the Padres are keeping a close eye on the progress he’s making with the catching gear on while determining his readiness for a minor league rehab assignment.
“I think he’s got to get a point where he’s pain-free getting out of his in and out of his catcher’s squat,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “So far he’s been able to hit somewhat pain-free, throw, all that kind of stuff. But we know behind the plate, you take a beating. Any wrong foul ball or pitch, it’s always just tough, and you’ve got to be able to move, you got to be able to be agile, and when your big toe is just a little banged up, it’s tough to do some of that stuff.”
Campusano had been hitless over three games before landing on the injured list, but he leads the catching unit by far at the plate with three homers, 10 RBIs and a .288/.262/.596 batting line.
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Notable
- RHP Germán Márquez (forearm nerve) has been throwing bullpens and will progress to live batting practice this week. A minor league rehab assignment could be on the horizon soon. “Arm’s feeling good,” Stammen said. “No pain whatsoever anymore, so on his way back.”
- RHP Matt Waldron (brachialis) began a throwing program over the weekend.
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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 3:14 PM.