Craig Stammen details why Nick Castellanos never fit Padres’ bench role

Nick Castellanos was always going to be an interesting Padres gamble because the name was bigger than the role. The Padres went into this deal asking a longtime everyday player to become a part-time piece, and Craig Stammen did a great job explaining why that never really worked for either side. 

“We kind of been talking a little bit about our roster and the flexibility that we’d like to have with the bench and maybe a little bit more speed, a little bit more dynamic players,” Stammen said, in audio shared by 97.3 The Fan.

The Padres DFA’d Castellanos because the version they had didn’t fit what the roster needed anymore. They needed speed, athleticism, and defensive flexibility. They definitely needed more ways for Stammen to manage late innings and protect tight games. From the beginning of the season, the bench felt redundant.

Nick Castellanos never looked comfortable in Padres’ part-time role

Castellanos could still offer offense. But once the actual production didn’t follow, the rest of the profile made little sense to carry.

Castellanos was hitting .191 with a .560 OPS in 39 games before the Padres finally moved on. The expected numbers were actually slightly more forgiving, with a .244 xBA and .400 xSLG, so the offensive profile wasn’t as hopeless as it seemed. But that only buys a player so much time.

Stammen also explained that he was trying to adjust to a role that never seemed natural for him from the jump.

Castellanos has spent most of his career as an everyday player. The Padres were asking him to play a couple days. Sit a couple days. Maybe pinch-hit. Then start again when there’s a friendly matchup for a righty.

It is a completely different job than Castellanos is accustomed to, though at this stage of his career, it may be the kind of role he has to accept more often if he wants to continue his big league career.

This is where Samad Taylor and Jase Bowen come in. matters. Neither are meant to replace Castellanos’s offensive profile. But they both give the Padres what he could not. More flexibility for Stammen’s lineup card and late-game situations.

The pitching has mostly done its job. So at some point, the front office had to look at the roster and ask a pretty blunt question: does this bench actually give Stammen enough ways to manage a close game?

With Castellanos, the answer is no. He had a -4 fielding run value and a -5 batting run value. That’s literally limiting what you can do with him.

Stammen also made sure to say the Padres are not changing the core of the offense. Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, Jackson Merrill and the rest of the crew still have to carry the lineup. And none of these moves will change that. But they are absolutely changing the shape around that core.

There’s no way around the timing of this. DFA’ing Castellanos during a series against his former team was always going to feel cold and awkward. Even if Stammen said the timing was coincidental and the conversations had been going on for weeks. It’s still not a great look.

But awkward timing doesn't make it the wrong move.

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