CLEARWATER, Fla. — There’s a belt hanging in Jesús Luzardo’s locker at BayCare Ballpark embroidered with the words “SINK OR SWIM.”
It’s a motto of the Phillies 28-year-old left-hander, one that is also written on his glove. He adopted it after the 2023 season during his time with the Miami Marlins, and really leaned into it the following year after he suffered a season-ending back injury.
For him, it embodies how it feels to be a pitcher, alone on the mound.
“There’s really only one option. It’s either you make it, or you don’t,” Luzardo said. “It’s something I like to live by.”
The motto remains a guiding light as Luzardo enters a pivotal season, his last one before reaching free agency.
The Phillies’ rotation, an organizational strength for the past several years, has some question marks in 2026. The Phillies are optimistic about Zack Wheeler’s progress from thoracic surgery, but he is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Andrew Painter, a longtime friend of Luzardo’s, has the chance to earn a spot, but he has yet to throw a pitch in a major league game.
After the free agency departure of fellow lefty Ranger Suárez, Luzardo joins Cristopher Sánchez as two anchors in the Phillies’ rotation to start the season.
Coming off a career-high 183 ⅔ innings in 2025, Luzardo didn’t change much about his winter training. He prioritized rest and some lower-intensity workouts early in the offseason, but things were mostly business as usual.
Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo says he’s out to perfect his changeup, one of five pitches he employs on the mound.
“I feel now, just as good, or better than I did last year,” Luzardo said.
But he did come to camp with a potential new trick up his sleeve. Last season, in his first spring with the Phillies, Luzardo began toying with a sweeper. It ultimately became one of his best weapons, and he threw it 31% of the time. The pitch had a 43.7% whiff rate, and opponents hit just .178 against it.
This year, instead of adding another pitch to his mix of five, he is focusing on refining his changeup.
“Just kind of trying to fine-tune it, and see if I can maybe get a little more swing-and-miss, or just kind of give guys a different look,” Luzardo said. “… Not that my changeup last year was bad, but it was maybe not elite, and I want to be as elite as possible.”
The process started about two months ago as a collaborative effort with pitching coach Caleb Cotham and the coaches Luzardo works with at home in South Florida. Luzardo’s changeup was his third-most used pitch in 2025, behind his four-seam and sweeper. He primarily threw it to right-handed batters, and hitters had a .224 batting average against it.
“He’s always trying to find that edge and the stretch to ‘What’s next? What can I do to get a little better?’” Cotham said. “And I think it’s important. That’s why guys like him stay in pace with the league, because the league’s always getting better. Hitters are always getting better.”
Phillies pitching coach, Caleb Cotham says Luzardo keeps pace with an ever-changing league because he’s “always trying to find ways to get better.”
Luzardo said he “didn’t want to give much away” about the new-look pitch, but it does involve a change in grip. The idea is to make the changeup more consistent in how it flies.
Cotham visited Luzardo once during the offseason, but they mostly communicated via texts and videos. Watching Luzardo in a bullpen session earlier this week, Cotham was impressed with the results.
“It’s as good as I’ve seen it,” Cotham said. “Hitters will be the true test.”
Luzardo’s commitment to finding ways to reinvent himself as a pitcher reminds Cotham of Wheeler, who added a splitter in 2024 and a sweeper the year before.
“You have to evolve. You have to keep seeing what you’re capable of,” Cotham said. “That’s the coolest part of being part of his journey, and being his coach, [is] being part of that collaborative process.”
Rob Thomson has positive things to say about Rule 5 prospect Zach McCambley seen throwing here during spring training pitching workouts on Saturday.
Extra bases
Right-hander Zach McCambley, a Phillies Rule 5 pick in the December draft, threw a live batting practice session Saturday. “I like him,” Thomson said of the 26-year-old from the Marlins organization who has been a reliever the past three seasons after being drafted in the third round in 2020. “He can really spin his slider, what you call the sweeper. Really good pitch. There’s some depth there. He’s got a good fastball. It’s going to be mid-90s [mph]. Commands the baseball. It’s a good pickup.” … Catcher René Pinto has reported to camp after being delayed by visa issues in Venezuela.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Nick Castellanos has a new team.
Two days after the Phillies released him with one year left on his contract, Castellanos agreed Saturday to join the Padres, a major league source confirmed.
The Phillies will pay all but the major league minimum ($780,000) portion of his $20 million salary for 2026.
The Phillies were intent on moving on from Castellanos after he clashed last season with manager Rob Thomson. In response to a report that was about to be published by The Athletic, Castellanos detailed a June 16 incident in which he brought a beer into the dugout in the eighth inning of a game in Miami after Thomson replaced him for defense. Castellanos was benched for the next game.
Castellanos, who ranked among the worst defenders in the sport, also lost his everyday role in right field in August and publicly criticized Thomson in September for “questionable” communication.
“It was just a difficult situation,” Thomson said recently on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “The thing with Nick, the bottom line is, he wants to play every day. He wants to play every inning, every day, and you can’t fault him for that. I think I respect him a great deal, just for being that guy.”
Castellanos played literally every day for most of his time with the Phillies after signing a five-year, $100 million contract in 2022. He started 236 consecutive games, including all 162 in 2024. It was the longest streak by a Phillies player since Pete Rose started 350 consecutive games from 1980 to 1983.
A two-time All-Star with 250 career homers, Castellanos batted .260 with 82 homers and a .732 OPS for the Phillies. His OPS+ of 100 indicated league-average production relative to all major league hitters.
Castellanos reportedly will play first base for the first time in his career for the Padres, who also intend to use him as a designated hitter. He could see time in the outfield, although San Diego is well-stocked with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ramón Laureano in right and left, respectively, with Jackson Merrill in center field.
The Phillies play the Padres on May 25-27 in San Diego and June 2-4 at Citizens Bank Park.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — One of the best catchers in baseball history intercepted Dave Dombrowski during a break in the general managers’ meetings in November.
Buster Posey had an itch to scratch.
Posey made roughly $170 million over a 12-year playing career in which he was a seven-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion. But he also observed that catchers, on the whole, weren’t as well-compensated as similar players at other positions, even though they are tasked with calling a game and handling a pitching staff.
So, Posey, now the San Francisco Giants’ president of baseball operations, approached his Phillies counterpart, who has led the front offices of five organizations over nearly four decades.
“He said, ‘Yeah, let me ask you a question: Why does the industry not put more dollar value on some of those things?’” Dombrowski recalled. “It’s hard, I think, the way it is. And we had a long conversation about it.”
Timely, too, as it turned out. Because the Phillies were in contract negotiations with free agent J.T. Realmuto, their catcher since 2019 and a foundational player in one of the winningest runs in the franchise’s 143-year history.
Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto shown during the first day of pitchers and catchers practice on Wednesday.
And it would soon be clear that there was at least a $4 million-per-year gulf between what the team and the veteran catcher’s camp believed he was worth.
The Phillies prioritized re-signing Realmuto this winter. They made an offer in December — but at a reduced annual salary (in the $10 million to $11 million range, major-league sources said) after three consecutive seasons of declining offense. Behind the plate, Realmuto, who turns 35 in March, remains unassailable as a game-caller and leader.
Realmuto felt those skills were worth a certain salary. The Phillies valued them differently.
“We had a number in our mind, and we knew what we were worth,” Realmuto said this week on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast. “And I wasn’t going to take anything less than that.”
It was a familiar stance. Realmuto and his agents, who also represented Posey as a player, have long sought to boost the pay scale for catchers.
In 2021, Realmuto re-signed with the Phillies for a $23.1 million annual salary, a record for catchers — by $100,000. Five years later, the mark still stands. And it’s less than the record for any position other than relief pitcher (Edwin Díaz: $23 million). It’s also less than the seven highest salaries for third basemen and the top nine for outfielders, according to Spotrac.
Realmuto went to an arbitration hearing against the Phillies in 2020 over a $2.4 million difference in salary proposals because he was trying to move the goal posts for catchers. He lost.
“I don’t believe teams — from a) their models and b) their valuations — take into account the nonanalytical special sauce of a catcher,” said Matt Ricatto, Realmuto’s agent at CAA, the same agency that represented Posey as a player. “I think it’s a blind spot for baseball.”
So, Realmuto fought that fight again this winter. It nearly ended with him and the Phillies going their separate ways.
There was some uncertainty this offseason that J.T. Realmuto would not return to the Phillies, but both sides reached a deal last month.
Catch 22
Most people know the story by now.
In January, as talks with Realmuto reached an impasse, the Phillies pivoted to free-agent infielder Bo Bichette, even agreeing to make his desired seven-year, $200 million offer, major league sources said. If the Mets hadn’t swooped in with a higher-salary ($42 million per year) three-year deal, Bichette would be with the Phillies and Realmuto … well, with whom exactly?
“It got a little stressful there for a couple of days,” Realmuto said. “We started kind of thinking about our other options and putting the logistics together of what it might be like to go somewhere else. And thankfully it didn’t come to that because, as we’ve stated all along, this is where we wanted to be. We’re happy we didn’t have to up and move and go somewhere else.”
Indeed, Realmuto lives on Clearwater Beach. His wife and four children are with him throughout spring training. They’re comfortable in Philadelphia. Nobody wanted to leave.
But Realmuto felt it was important to continue his crusade for catcher equity. He held firm on not accepting the Phillies’ initial offers. On the night of Jan. 15, Dombrowski called Ricatto to inform him the Phillies were going in a different direction.
Roughly 12 hours later, once the pursuit of Bichette was foiled, the Phillies raised their offer to Realmuto: three years and $45 million, with as much as $7 million per year in bonuses based on merit (top-10 MVP votes, All-Star elections/selections, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger).
“If you ask any pitcher, any pitching coach, any manager, the most important thing a catcher can do is call a game and know his pitching staff and give them confidence when they’re on the mound,” Realmuto said. “If you can make your pitchers 5% better, 10% better, over the course of a year, that’s extremely, extremely valuable.”
Sure. But game-calling and handling a pitching staff are among the last largely unquantifiable skills in baseball’s analytics age.
“And because it’s not really quantifiable, then you don’t really get rewarded for it,” Realmuto said. “That’s the aspect that I just don’t agree with. It doesn’t sit well with me, so that’s kind of just why I enjoy fighting for it.”
J.T. Realmuto re-signed with the Phillies on a three-year, $45 million contract.
Measuring up
In modern baseball, there’s a metric for everything.
Almost everything.
Who’s the fastest runner? Statcast tracks feet-per-second sprint speeds. The best outfield jump? There’s data for that, too. A hitter’s average exit velocity, launch angle, and bat speed. A pitcher’s spin rate and vertical/horizontal movement.
The metrics for catchers include blocking, throwing, and framing, the technique of receiving a pitch in a way that influences the umpire to call a strike. “Pop time” measures how fast a catcher releases the ball on steal attempts. Realmuto annually has among the best pop times of all catchers. His framing isn’t typically as strong, in part because the Phillies don’t emphasize it as much as other teams.
But there isn’t a reliable gauge for calling a game. Phillies manager Rob Thomson, a former minor-league catcher, suggested catcher’s ERA and OPS as decent barometers.
In that case, opponents have a .682 OPS and Phillies pitchers have a 3.75 ERA with Realmuto behind the plate since 2023. The major-league averages during that time: .722 and 4.18.
A catcher’s ability to handle a pitching staff is almost entirely anecdotal.
Zack Wheeler swears by Realmuto. He barely ever pitches to anyone else (134 of Wheeler’s 157 starts for the Phillies have come with Realmuto behind the plate) and hardly ever shakes off a pitch that he calls.
Cristopher Sánchez, who emerged as the Cy Young runner-up in the National League last year, cited Realmuto’s diligence in putting together a game plan, a process that begins even before the starter arrives at the ballpark. And Jesús Luzardo describes Realmuto as “a no-B.S. guy” behind the plate.
“You show up to the field, he’s already there, doing homework, going over scouting reports, watching video,” Luzardo said. “So, when he goes up back there and he tells us, ‘This is the plan that we’re going to do throughout the game,’ you have confidence that he knows what he’s talking about and that it’s not [him] just winging it.”
In conversations with the Phillies and other teams this winter, Ricatto described Realmuto’s “cascading effect” on a team. Because although he’s not the best player on the roster, “he makes [teammates] better than anyone else at that [catcher] position,” Ricatto said.
Surely, that’s worth something.
But how much?
It’s a question that gets to the heart of Dombrowski’s chat with Posey.
“J.T. is outstanding, right?” Dombrowski said. “He handles the staff well. He does all those other things. But let’s say you had a catcher that, let’s say they hit .150. And they did all that [other stuff]. What would you pay that person? I don’t have that exact answer.
“But it’s one of those where it’s a combination of the value, the defensive performance, and all that — and the hitting aspect of our game. The game has rewarded offense [more than anything] throughout the years.”
Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (left) has said he almost never shakes off a pitch called by J.T. Realmuto.
‘I never felt like Plan B’
Realmuto is coming off his worst offensive season since his rookie year in Miami. But he wasn’t a .150 hitter, either. He batted .257 with 12 homers and a .700 OPS. Based on OPS-plus, he was 9% less productive than league average.
But even at Realmuto’s offensive peak, his agents believed he was paid less simply because he’s a catcher.
After the 2019 season, Realmuto filed for $12.4 million in arbitration because his numbers were comparable at the same point in his career to then-Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon, who made $12.3 million in 2018. But a three-person panel ruled in favor of the Phillies’ $10 million offer, still an arbitration record for catchers.
And although the judges didn’t provide an explanation, Jeff Berry, one of Realmuto’s agents at the time, believed it was because they compared Realmuto only to fellow catchers, notably Baltimore’s Matt Wieters, who made $8.3 million in his third year of arbitration in 2015.
Which doesn’t mean Realmuto gets paid squat. He has made approximately $135 million since 2016. When his new contract expires, he will have made at least $180 million.
It’s little wonder, then, that Realmuto said he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward the Phillies after they nearly broke up with him last month. He insisted he doesn’t feel like a consolation prize for not landing Bichette.
“To be honest, I never felt like Plan B because I could have signed with the Phillies a month and a half earlier,” he said. “They just valued me differently than I valued myself.”
So, Realmuto stood on principle, just like he always has.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — One day after the Phillies released Nick Castellanos, it was business as usual in their clubhouse.
Even before the transaction was official, Castellanos’ absence had been obvious from the start of spring training. Not only because president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski had repeatedly indicated over the winter that the Phillies intended to find a “change of scenery” for the right fielder for the final year of his contract, but because his usual locker at BayCare Ballpark was occupied by someone else.
Kyle Schwarber said he saw the handwritten letter that Castellanos posted on Instagram on Thursday, shortly after the Phillies announced his release. In it, Castellanos thanked several members of the organization and addressed what he described as the “Miami Incident.”
Castellanos revealed that he brought a beer into the dugout during a June road game against the Miami Marlins, upset that he had been removed for a defensive substitution in the eighth inning. He wrote that the beer was removed from his hand by teammates before he could take a sip, and his actions led to a one-game benching as punishment.
“I mean, I saw it. It is what it is, right?” Schwarber said Friday. “I think the biggest thing is that we all wish him the best. We’ve had a lot of really good memories here over the last four years, and he’s had some really big moments with us, and we wish him the best moving forward.
“Like it is what it is, but hopefully wherever he goes next, he’s able to keep going out there and keep doing his thing and keep having those big moments.”
Had the overall situation been a distraction for the team last year?
“I mean, that’s [neither] here nor there,” Schwarber said. “We did what we did. It felt like that in the Dodgers series that we played good games. There were just things that we didn’t execute. We didn’t walk away with wins at the end of the day. So it’s hard to say here or there, right? Like, you know, we put ourselves in the position of where we wanted to be, and we just got knocked out.
“So, can’t really say.”
Toward the end of his Phillies tenure, Castellanos had been openly critical of manager Rob Thomson’s communication, as his role changed from an everyday player to a platooning one.
Castellanos did not mention Thomson in the portion of the letter where he thanked members of the Phillies organization, including principal owner John Middleton, Dombrowski, outfield coach Paco Figueroa, and his teammates.
“I’m proud of him,” Thomson said Friday of the letter. “Because he owned up to what he did. And, hey, we all make mistakes. Mine are well-documented. But Nick helped us out in a lot of ways here. He’s had some big hits and big plays and helped us win a lot of ball games. So I do, I wish him all the best.”
Castellanos also wrote in his letter that he had planned to explain his actions in Miami to the media the following day but “was instructed not to by management.”
At the time, Thomson had described the reason for the benching as an “inappropriate comment.” On Friday, the manager said he wouldn’t change how the team handled that situation.
“I thought it was appropriate, what we did,” Thomson said.
Phillies pitcher Andrew Painter signs autographs for fans during a spring training workout on Friday in Clearwater, Fla.
Extra bases
Andrew Painter, Jesús Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez, Aaron Nola, and newcomer Brad Keller were among the pitchers who threw bullpen sessions on Friday. “I hate sounding like Peter Positive all the time, but we had a really good day today on the mound,” Thomson said. “Painter was really good. Luzardo. Nola. Sánchez, Keller, some of the new guys, [Kyle] Backhus and [Chase] Shugart, just really good day. I mean, they’re filling it up. Balls coming out good, shapes are good.” … Max Lazar, Nolan Hoffman, and Andrew Walling threw live batting practice Friday to several of the catchers in camp, including J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs, and Rafael Marchán.
In December of 2021, Vance Worley received an unexpected email. He’d recently played parts of the minor league season with the Mets’ triple-A affiliate in Syracuse and heard from one of the organization’s scouts, Conor Brooks.
Brooks had ties to Britain’s national baseball team. The organization was interested in adding Worley to its roster ahead of the World Baseball Classic qualifier in Germany in September and told him that he was eligible to pitch.
As the former Phillie read the message, he started to laugh.
“I’m like, ‘How?’” he said. “‘Where is my lineage to Great Britain?’”
Worley had never been to England, Scotland, or Wales. Neither had anyone in his immediate family. But the team was able to find an unconventional loophole.
Worley’s mother, Shirley, was born in Hong Kong while it was under British rule. All Brooks needed was a birth certificate.
The right-handed pitcher called his parents. A few minutes later, he texted a screenshot of Shirley’s birth certificate to the scout.
By September, he was on a flight to Germany for a game against Spain. Great Britain won in a 10-9 walk-off, punching a ticket to the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Vance Worley’s 3.3 WAR in 2011 was better than both Craig Kimbrel (2.5) and Freddie Freeman (1.5), two probable Hall of Famers who finished ahead of him in Rookie of the Year voting that season.
For Worley, the timing was perfect. The swingman made his big league debut with the Phillies in 2010. He earned a spot on the team’s roster in 2011, when he pitched to a 3.01 ERA across 131⅔ innings and finished third in National League Rookie of the Year voting behind Craig Kimbrel and Freddie Freeman.
But he bounced around after that. The Phillies traded him to the Twins in 2012. Minnesota placed him on waivers in March 2014, and outrighted him to triple A once he cleared.
At this point, Worley says he was in a dark place. He texted former Phillies teammate John Mayberry Jr. and said he was ready to quit. Mayberry quickly convinced him otherwise.
“You play until they rip that damn jersey off your back,” the outfielder told his friend.
Worley has been pitching ever since. He’s now 38, teaching baseball lessons out of a gym in South Jersey. He hasn’t thrown an MLB inning in nine years, but that doesn’t faze him.
The right-handed pitcher loves the game and has found a home with Britain’s baseball federation. Since 2024, he’s worked on the side as a pitching coach for the under-23 national team. In March, he’ll suit up for the WBC in what his could be his last appearance on the mound.
“This program has given to me,” Worley said. “So I said, ‘I’m going to stick around. I’m going to help you guys out, and I’m going to coach with you guys. And as long as you let me play, I’m going to keep playing.’”
Vance Worley (49) has been embraced by Great Britain teammates young and old.
‘I’ve been called Grandpa’
Worley still remembers stepping into the visitors’ clubhouse at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on a hot July day. It was 2010, and he’d recently been called up by the Phillies.
The right-handed pitcher arrived early and watched as his new teammates filtered on and off the field. He was starstruck, especially when he saw Joe Blanton, a player Worley rooted for as an A’s fan growing up in Sacramento, Calif.
He decided to introduce himself.
“I was like, ‘Hey Joe, it’s nice to meet you,’” Worley recalled. “‘I remember watching you when I was in high school.’
“[Blanton] just goes, ‘God, I’m getting old.’”
Worley had a similar experience when he joined Great Britain in 2022. One of his new teammates was Nick Ward, a longtime minor league infielder who was born and raised in Kennett Square.
Ward was brought up on the Phillies teams of Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard. But he’d had a special affinity for “The Vanimal,” a pitcher who’d never thrown the hardest but was a fierce competitor.
Vance Worley’s performance for Great Britain in the 2026 World Baseball Classic could be his last hurrah on the mound.
Similar to how Worley was with Blanton, Ward was in awe. The righty looked the same as he did on TV, back when he was donning black-rimmed glasses and a Phiten necklace.
“It was like, ‘Holy crap. That’s Vance Worley,’” Ward said. “I had to pinch myself. It was just really cool that one of the guys that I loved to watch play was actually a super good dude.”
Just as it did with Blanton, this reaction made Worley feel a bit old. But he has embraced his role as the team’s elder statesman.
“I’ve been called Uncle,” Worley said. “I’ve been called Grandpa. And I’m just like, ‘Whatever man, your uncle and grandpa, think about them barbecues, out there playing Wiffle ball. I’d be punching you out right now. I see things you don’t know yet.’”
After he returned from Germany, Worley continued to throw. He used his day job, teaching baseball at Powerhouse Sports Arena in Sewell, Gloucester County, to help him stay in shape.
Once he arrived in Arizona for the WBC in 2023, he mentored the younger players around him. One was Harry Ford, Britain’s catcher, who was drafted by the Mariners in 2021 but has since been traded to the Nationals.
Worley asked his coaches if he could work with Ford one-on-one, and he started teaching the young backstop the minutiae: how to set up early, how to set up late, how to work quick.
Vance Worley
He showed him different pitch shapes, how they moved, and the strategy behind calling a game. The veteran pitcher served as a pseudo player-coach for the entire team, giving them words of encouragement on the field and off.
For Ward, this instruction made a big impact. Like Worley, he’d bounced around a lot in the lead-up to the 2023 WBC. But unlike Worley, he’d never played a big league inning.
Great Britain’s first game was scheduled on March 11 against Team USA, a roster stacked with prominent major leaguers. Worley was scheduled to start, which, years removed from MLB, was a daunting feat.
He threw 2⅔ innings, allowing three hits and no runs with three walks and a strikeout. While Worley was on the mound, Ward made a few big defensive plays at first base. The right-handed pitcher made his appreciation known, giving Ward a fist-bump or a point or a smile.
“It was just like, ‘Wow, if this guy that I used to really look up to is doing that … I’m good enough,’” Ward said. “And it wasn’t just me that he was doing this to. He was making all of us feel like we belong here.”
Worley exited the game early due to pain in his elbow. Great Britain lost, 6-2, and when he picked up his bag to get onto the bus, he felt the pain again. He would need bone chip surgery (the third of his career).
Worley thought this would be the last time he’d step on a mound. He was despondent that his time in baseball would come to such an unceremonious end.
Vance Worley’s passion for the game has not changed since his days with the Phillies, and has rubbed off on his young Great Britain teammates.
Before Great Britain’s game against Colombia on March 13, Ward noticed Worley standing alone on the top step of the dugout.
It was just before first pitch. The minor leaguer gave the big league veteran a hug.
“Thank you,” Ward told him. “I got to be your fan, first. Getting to share the field with you was one of the coolest moments that I could have ever dreamed about.”
A new chapter
Great Britain ended up defeating Colombia, 7-5, before falling to Mexico, 2-1, on March 14. Before they left Arizona, the players reminisced over what they’d done.
Worley reminded them that the British team wasn’t expected to be in the tournament in the first place. The players had come from all walks of life and had shown they deserved to be there.
“A lot of them were never in pro ball, or didn’t get an opportunity, or had an injury that shut them out,” Worley said. “And for them to be able to play in a big league stadium, playing big leaguers … I was like, ‘Hey, man, no matter what anybody says to you, you’re a big leaguer today.’”
The win over Colombia secured Great Britain’s berth for the 2026 tournament, which Ward and Worley will both be participating in.
Worley has gotten creative in his preparation. He’s integrated it into his day-to-day life, throwing in neighborhood sandlot games with his kids and also at the gym where he gives lessons.
He’ll report to camp in Arizona on Feb. 26. He has not officially retired and is unsure if this will be his last outing in a baseball game.
But the former Phillie is going to treat it that way, just in case.
“I’ve been through pretty much every situation as a player,” Worley said. “Trade, waive, claim, release, DFA. And I’m relentless. I’m not going to let something that should sidetrack me, or take me off the track, [prevent me from] being a baseball player, and what I enjoy.”
Each Friday, Inquirer photo editors pick the best Philly sports images from the last seven days. This week, there’s nowhere better to start than in Clearwater, Fla., where the Phillies kicked off their spring training this week. The Sixers also returned from their West Coast trip for a matchup with the Knicks before this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game, where Tyrese Maxey will make his first start. And as always, there’s plenty of Big 5 hoops action with March Madness just over a month away.
Phillies backup catcher Garrett Stubbs holds on to a pitch during the first day of spring training practice. Most of the team is already in Clearwater ahead of Monday’s first full-squad workout.Reliever Jose Alvarado (left) is no stranger to BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla., but this is the first spring training with the Phillies for Jhoan Duran, who was acquired ahead of the trade deadline last season.Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh is back at spring training — as is his popular beard.The Sixers were blown out by the Knicks on Wednesday night, and have lost three of four heading into the All-Star break. Earlier this week, they signed Dalen Terry (right) to a two-way deal.Former Villanova star Mikal Bridges (left) was back in South Philly this week for the Knicks’ win over Justin Edwards (right) and the Sixers.Sixers coach Nick Nurse was without Joel Embiid and Quentin Grimes in Wednesday’s loss to the Knicks.Joe Pagliei, 91, is the Eagles’ oldest living player and was a member of the 1960 championship team.Villanova guard Kennedy Henry (right) is third on the team in scoring (9.2 points per game). The Wildcats (20-5) are currently second in the Big East behind undefeated UConn, the nation’s No. 1 ranked team.Guard Devin Askew (right) has helped the Villanova to a 19-5 record as they look to get back in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats have won four straight, including Tuesday’s 77-74 victory over Marquette.Saint Joseph’s guard Jill Jekot (bottom) battles for a loose ball against Dayton forward Ajok Madol in Sunday’s loss. The Hawks bounced back with a 70-63 win over George Washington on Wednesday.Saint Joseph’s guard Gabby Casey (center) has her shot attempt blocked against Dayton. Casey leads the team in points (16.7), rebounds (7.0), and steals (1.7) per game, and is second in assists (3.2).Penn guard Jay Jones (with ball) fights for a rebound during the Quakers’ win over Princeton University on Saturday at the Palestra. Penn hosts Columbia on Friday night.Penn guard AJ Levine (left) celebrates with teammates after the Quakers’ win over Princeton. It was the team’s second straight after three losses in a row.Villanova center Duke Brennan (left) collides with Marquette Golden Eagles forward Royce Parham (13). The Wildcats will go for their fifth straight win Saturday against Creighton.While the Phillies are in Clearwater, the La Salle University baseball team practices on campus in the cold. The team takes on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Friday in their first game of the season.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is optimistic that major leaguers will play in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Manfred, speaking following an owners meeting Thursday, said there are still issues to resolve with the Major League Baseball Players Association before those Olympic aspirations are a reality, but “I think we’re a lot closer to there than we were the last time we talked about it,” he said.
The six-nation baseball tournament will be played from July 13-19 at Dodger Stadium. MLB is planning for an extended All-Star break between July 9 and July 21, with the All-Star Game likely at San Francisco on July 11.
“I sense a lot of momentum towards playing in L.A. in 2028,” Manfred said. “I think we are going to get over those issues. I think people have come to appreciate that the Olympics on U.S. soil is a unique marketing opportunity for the game. I think we had a lot of players interested in doing it and, you know, I feel pretty good about the idea (that) we’ll get there.”
In addition, an agreement is needed on insurance to cover player contracts for time with Olympic teams.
The United States will have an automatic berth in the both the baseball and softball tournaments and the top two other nations from the Americas in next month’s World Baseball Classic will earn berths.
MLB did not allow players on 40-man rosters to participate in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when Nippon Professional Baseball interrupted its season and Japan beat the U.S. 2-0 in the gold medal game.
Manfred was also asked if the involvement of Casey Wasserman, the prominent businessman and talent agent who has recently lost clients because of his appearance in recently released government files on Jeffrey Epstein, would deter the league from participating in the Olympics. He declined to comment on Wasserman, who is the chairman of the Los Angeles Games, saying, “Look, our dealings are not with Casey. Our dealings are with the institution of the Olympics.”
The Phillies released Nick Castellanos on Thursday after failing to find a trade partner for the 33-year old outfielder, three days before position players were scheduled to report to the team’s spring training facilities in Clearwater, Fla.
Although the end of his time with the Phillies has been defined by a prolonged search to shed the $20 million left on his contract, Castellanos was one of the Phillies’ most intriguing characters, on and off the field.
Here’s a look back at some of the right fielder’s most memorable moments from his time with the Phillies:
Castellanos became known nationally for hitting home runs with bad timing for broadcasters. It began in an August 2020 game with the Reds when he hit a drive into deep left field while former Reds broadcaster Thom Brennaman was apologizing for using a homophobic slur earlier in the broadcast.
When the right fielder logged his first hit with the Phillies in a spring training game against the Blue Jays in 2022, the Toronto broadcasters were discussing pitching coach Pete Walker being charged with driving under the influence a day earlier.
Castellanos caught Phillies broadcaster Tom McCarthy in the middle of a tribute to fallen service members on Veterans Day in 2022, lifting a homer to deep left field as the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast was returning from commercial in the bottom of the second.
A somber moment on Memorial Day is interrupted by, who else, Nick Castellanos. pic.twitter.com/F3cJv6vDTB
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 30, 2022
Eventually, he began delivering big hits at the same time as major news events or celebrity deaths. Castellanos hit a homer the day I-95 collapsed in Northeast Philadelphia on June 11, 2023.
A surge of bets on Castellanos to hit a homer on April 21, the day the Vatican announced the death of Pope Francis, caused FanDuel Sportsbook to temporarily lock the outfielder’s odds. Notably, Castellanos was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts that day, and the Phillies lost to the Mets, 5-4.
There is something to suggest that Castellanos was hitting coincidental homers long before anyone was paying attention. He hit his first minor league homer on May 1, 2011, the same day that former President Barack Obama announced the U.S. had killed Osama bin Laden.
Father and son
Castellanos’ son Liam became a good-luck charm for the Phillies as the team made its run to the National League Championship Series in 2023. Liam, who lives in Florida during the school year, witnessed his father play arguably the best two games of his career when the son came to Philadelphia for the team’s division series against the Braves.
With his son in the stands, Castellanos became the first player in MLB history to hit two home runs in back-to-back postseason games.
But the Phils’ ride was shorter that season as the Mets won the series in four games.
The team’s postseason luck ran dry in 2025, as the Dodgers beat the Phillies in four games of the division series. Castellanos’ final act in a Phillies uniform was to embrace teammate Orion Kerkering after the pitcher made a season-ending errant throw to home in the bottom of the 11th.
The ‘Miami Incident’
Not all of Castellanos’ moments with the Phillies were highlights. The outfielder took time to address what he called the “Miami incident” in his farewell letter to Philadelphia, which he posted to Instagram on Thursday afternoon.
Castellanos was benched last season during a road series against his hometown team, the Miami Marlins, ending an iron man streak of 236 games. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said the decision to sit Castellanos was due to an “inappropriate comment” the outfielder made after being removed in the eighth inning of the previous game.
Castellanos’ letter says that he brought a can of Presidente beer into the dugout after being removed from the game. The beer was taken from Castellanos’ hand before he could take a sip, but the outfielder still let Thomson know he was frustrated.
“I then sat next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and to [sic] tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning,” Castellanos wrote.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — After getting replaced for defense late in a close game, the worst defensive outfielder in baseball since 2022 based on defensive runs saved brought a beer into the dugout and lectured his manager.
Brought a beer into the dugout.
Let those words wash over you. They belong, incidentally, to the player himself. The Phillies released Nick Castellanos on Thursday after trying to trade him for three months. And when the deed was finally done, the $100 million right fielder laid bare the June 16 incident in Miami that precipitated his unceremonious departure.
“I brought a Presedente [sic] into the dugout,” Castellanos said in a handwritten letter posted on Instagram. “I then sat right next to Rob [Thomson] and let him know that too much slack in some areas and to [sic] tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning.”
There were other tension points. Castellanos, a two-time All-Star with 250 career homers and an everyday player in the majors for a decade, lost his job in August while producing at a less-than-league-average clip. In September, he accused Thomson of “questionable” communication.
As president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski put it in explaining why the Phillies-Castellanos relationship soured like a lemon with $20 million left on the final season of his five-year contract, “I don’t think it was necessarily one incident.”
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski talks to the media on Thursday after releasing Nick Castellanos.
In truth, Castellanos was always a strange match for Philly.
His introductory news conference in March 2022 — after signing the contract that put the Phillies over the luxury tax for the first time in their history — revealed an edgy personality, a directness that didn’t always sit well with everyone even in the clubhouse, and a penchant for taking things personally.
“He’s a little different,” former teammate Whit Merrifield said recently on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “And he’ll tell you, he’s just a little different. He’s very, very blunt. He’ll tell you exactly how he feels.
“There are just some things that happened that Casty didn’t like along the way, and he’s not the guy to hide his feelings or sugarcoat it. And I think it just kind of came to a head.”
It didn’t help that Castellanos struggled on the field in 2022, his first year with the Phillies, posting the lowest full-season OPS of his career (.694) — until he matched it last year.
He often quibbled over his spot in the batting order, especially when Thomson dropped him to the seventh or eighth spot, insisting he felt more comfortable in the top half of a lineup. And when coaches worked with him at, say, reducing his rate of swings at pitches out of the zone, Castellanos often pushed back, noting that he’s “always been a free swinger.”
But Castellanos could also be supportive of teammates. He encouraged young outfielder Mickey Moniak to stay around the team after breaking his hand on the last day of spring training. And after Orion Kerkering made a series-ending error in the postseason last year, Castellanos raced in from right field to be at his side.
“He treated me and my family wonderfully,” left fielder Brandon Marsh said Thursday. “He’s always got my respect and I always got love for [No.] 8.”
Nick Castellanos bookended his four-year run as a Phillie with .694 OPS seasons.
It was all part of the enigma of Castellanos. Dombrowski knew all about it. He was running the Tigers’ baseball operations in 2010 when Detroit drafted Castellanos out of high school.
“He’s been a very good player, he’s had a nice career, and he probably will continue to do so,” Dombrowski said. “Things happened, things changed over a 15-year period, and I’ve still had a good relationship with Nick and his family members. You always wish things end up on a good point, but it doesn’t always happen.”
In his four-page letter, Castellanos thanked owner John Middleton, Dombrowski, staff members, outfield coach Paco Figueroa (who often coached Castellanos’ son, Liam, on the field before games), and “my teammates,” though none by name.
Notably omitted: Thomson and hitting coach Kevin Long.
But Castellanos didn’t spare the details of his confrontation with Thomson in what he termed the “Miami incident.” He gave a “shout out” to special assistant Howie Kendrick and teammates for “taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip,” as if actively drinking would’ve made the whole thing worse.
Castellanos noted that he met with Dombrowski and Thomson after the game.
“We aired our differences,” Castellanos wrote, “and the conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me.”
Thomson benched Castellanos the next day, ending a streak of 236 consecutive games started. Castellanos conceded that “there are rules and I broke one in Miami.” Dombrowski said the Phillies didn’t consider a harsher punishment, such as releasing Castellanos midway through last season.
Nick Castellanos played for manager Rob Thomson with the Phillies since 2022.
“That [incident] wasn’t the final or determining factor,” Dombrowski. “Because if it was, we would’ve done it at that particular time.”
Beyond that, Dombrowski wasn’t interested in discussing an incident that happened seven months ago. Besides, by the time the Phillies got knocked out of the postseason in the divisional round, it was clear to everyone that they were moving on from Castellanos, who said in September that he and Thomson didn’t talk much last season.
Dombrowski called Castellanos after the playoffs and said he thought a change of scenery was best. Castellanos didn’t disagree.
“I think that we all felt that it was probably in the best interest,” Dombrowski said, “to have a change of scenery.”
Throughout the offseason, Dombrowski didn’t conceal the Phillies’ intention to move on from Castellanos. Early in the winter, they were hoping to find a team that would pay more of Castellanos’ salary.
But over the last few weeks, they hoped to simply move him off the roster, even if it meant paying down most of his salary. In releasing Castellanos, the Phillies must pay his $20 million salary minus the league minimum salary ($780,000) if he signs elsewhere.
“I know the dollars weren’t standing in the way at this point of clubs taking him,” Dombrowski said.
Maybe the whole thing will be humbling to Castellanos. He punctuated his letter with this: “I love this game. I love being a teammate and I am addicted to winning. I will learn from this.”
But after the eighth inning June 16 in Miami, it wasn’t ever going to be with the Phillies.
This is a make-or-break season for the Phillies, so they aren’t taking any chances with any clubhouse cancers.
A fading talent who will be 34 in less than a month, malcontent right fielder Nick Castellanos was released by the club on Thursday afternoon. That was one day after pitchers and catchers officially reported and four days before full-squad workouts begin, but position players typically trickle in a day or two early.
The Phillies didn’t want Castellanos showing up. Not after the crap he pulled last season, when he put his desires above the team. And not after the crap he pulled Thursday. In fact, nobody might want Castellanos after his latest stunt.
It will cost the Phillis the last $20 million on the five-year, $100 million contract that he has never played up to. Twenty mil is a bargain to remove a player like this.
Their decision to release Castellanos immediately gained merit. Upon his release, Castellanos posted on Instagram a page-and-a-half screed scrawled on loose-leaf notebook paper explaining the notorious incident in Miami last season that betrayed his selfishness, insubordination, and disrespect for the game.
It was a manifesto that would have made Sam Hinkie proud.
The details of the incident had been shrouded in mystery. The Phillies said only that Castellanos had been insubordinate to Phillies manager Rob Thomson. Castellanos refused to provide details. As it turns out, according to his post, Castellanos actually brought a beer from the clubhouse to the bench, and then began berating his manager in front of the team.
He should have been released that night.
To review:
On June 16 in Miami, Thomson replaced Castellanos in right field for a defensive replacement. Castellanos is rated by Baseball Savant as the second-worst outfielder in the majors since he arrived with the Phillies in 2022.
Amid all of the bizarre aspects of the Castellanos situation, that Castellanos took offense to being replaced — a move that clearly benefited the team — is the most appalling aspect. Every star on the Phillies roster has sacrificed preferences at some point.
Castellanos is a Florida native. He had friends and family in the ballpark that night. He was embarrassed. So, after he left the game, he went to the dugout, got a bottle of Presidenté, and went back to the dugout to insult his boss.
“I then sat right next to Rob and let him know that too much slack in some areas and to [sic] tight of restrictions in others are not condusive [sic] to us winning,” Castellanos wrote Thursday.
You know what’s conducive to winning?
Getting Nick Castellanos out of right field every chance you get.
Castellanos wrote that, after the game, he, Thomson, and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski “[a]ired out our differences” in Thomson’s office and he apologized. Castellanos was benched for the next night’s game as punishment. He wrote that the team told him not to divulge the details of the incident.
He also wrote that his confession Thursday was spurred not by any heartfelt impulse to make things right, but rather by pure, unadulterated self-preservation; as usual, Nick’s looking out for Nick. Castellanos wrote that he was preempting a story about the incident being written “without my consent or comment.”
What’s going on in that mind of his? The media have sought his comment for months. The media do not need his consent to write about him.
At any rate, to Thomson’s discredit, Castellanos got his way.
Thomson never again pulled Castellanos for defensive purposes. By the end of the season, Castellanos was playing so poorly that he’d been reduced to a platoon role with Max Kepler.
With Castellanos clearly poised to exit the team one way or another, Thomson was asked at the end of the season if he would have issues managing Castellanos again. Thomson said he would not have a problem.
Castellanos clearly did have a problem with Thomson.
As part of the Instagram post, Castellanos included a similar, separate goodbye message for the fans, his teammates, principal owner John Middleton, Dombrowski, and most Phillies personnel. He singled out outfield coach Paco Figueroa, who has spent endless hours working on Castellanos’ defense the past 3½ seasons (after Castellanos conceded that he wasn’t always engaged when playing outfield). To his credit, Castellanos, a converted infielder who is leaden-legged and devoid of outfield instinct, worked hard to improve as a fielder.
Notably, though, Castellanos clearly made it a point to exclude Thomson in his thanks.
That “apology” on June 16 certainly was not heartfelt.
We’re not naive here. If Castellanos had earned his money at the plate, he’d still be a Phillie. If he’d hit .300 with 30 homers every year, he could’ve brought a keg into the dugout and done keg-stands. “Topper” would’ve held his feet.
However, Castellanos hit just 82 home runs in the next four seasons, which tied for 60th among all players. His OPS of .732 ranked 130th, three points lower than former Phillies prospect Mickey Moniak.
It will be interesting to see how other teams view Castellanos as a player and a person. Despite his oddities and antics, he remained a popular character in the Phillies’ clubhouse. He has a big personality, he works hard, he is kind, and he is a devoted father.
There’s plenty of tread left on his tires. He’ll find a home with some team as a right-handed designated hitter. But he’ll be a DH with baggage.
