Nick Castellanos has been in the news recently for comments and a handwritten note explaining an incident with the Philadelphia Phillies that contributed to his benching and eventual release.

The recent “Miami incident” explanation

After being released by the Phillies in February 2026, Castellanos shared a handwritten note to Philadelphia fans on social media, finally laying out his version of what happened during a 2025 game in Miami. In that note, he admitted he broke a team rule after being pulled from a close game in front of friends and family.

According to Castellanos’ own description, he:

  • Brought a Presidente beer into the dugout after being removed from the game.
  • Sat down next to manager Rob Thomson and told him that there was “too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others,” saying that dynamic was not conducive to winning.
  • Said his teammates took the beer away before he drank it.
  • Explained that the punishment for this was being benched for the next game, which ended his long consecutive-games streak.

He also emphasized in the note that he loves the game, loves being a teammate, is “addicted to winning,” and said he would learn from the situation.

What did he say about Rob Thomson?

The fallout from the incident connected to earlier public comments Castellanos had made about his communication with Phillies manager Rob Thomson. In September 2025, he told reporters that:

  • Communication with Thomson had been “questionable, at least in my experience.”
  • When a reporter mentioned that other players praised Thomson’s directness, Castellanos responded rhetorically, “who says that?”, signaling some frustration with how things were handled.

At the same time, he also said he was “here to do whatever I can to make sure that Philadelphia wins a World Series ring” and pushed back on the idea that he was unhappy, saying that would be “creating a narrative.”

Why people keep asking “what did Nick Castellanos say?”

The specific phrase “what did Nick Castellanos say” has trended at different times because key details were kept vague in real time, leading fans and forums to speculate. For example:

  • When Phillies manager Rob Thomson benched him in June 2025, he only referred to an “inappropriate comment” after Castellanos was removed for defense, without revealing the actual words.
  • That mystery hung over the situation until Castellanos’ February 2026 note, where he finally detailed bringing beer into the dugout and confronting Thomson about team rules and culture.

So, when people search “what did Nick Castellanos say,” they’re usually referring to:

  1. The “inappropriate comment” that led to his benching, which he later contextualized as challenging Thomson about “slack” and “restrictions” after bringing a beer into the dugout.
  1. His public remarks about “questionable” communication with Thomson and his pushback on the narrative that he was unhappy in Philadelphia.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.