Former Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos is coming clean about something he calls the Miami Incident — an instance where he brought a beer into the dugout during a game.
The Phillies released Castellanos, 33, on Thursday, February 12, after four seasons. He then took to Instagram to thank the Phillies organization, Philadelphia fans and to explain what happened before someone else made it public.
“As a veteran of the game of baseball there are rules, and I broke one in Miami after being taken out of a close ballgame in front of my friends and family,” he wrote in a handwritten letter shared on Thursday. “I brought a Presidente into the dugout. I then sat right next to [manager Rob Thomson] and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others are not conducive to us winning.”
Castellanos then credited his teammates with making sure he did not escalate the situation.
“Shoutout to my teammates and [special assistant Howie Kendrick] for taking the beer out of my hands before I could take a sip (I appreciate you guys),” he wrote.
Castellanos continued, “After the game, I went into the office with [team president Dave Dombrowski] and Rob. We aired out our differences and the conversation ended with me apologizing for letting my emotions get the best of me. I would like to note that I was ready to share the details of the incident in its entirety to the media the next day, but was instructed not to by management. The punishment I received for my actions was [a] benching the following game.”
Looking at the Phillies’ 2025 schedule, the incident appears to have occurred on June 16, 2025 against the Miami Marlins, after Castellanos was replaced in the ninth inning by Johan Rojas as a defensive upgrade. He did not play the next day, but returned for the Phillies’ win over the Marlins two days later.
At the time, Thomson, 62, told the media he benched Castellanos for making an inappropriate comment.
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“One of the many things about Nick that I love is that he’s very emotional,” Thomson said. “He loves to play, and he loves to play every inning of every game. I just thought last night he made an inappropriate comment after he came out, and so today, he’s not going to play. And I’m going to leave it at that.”
“I wasn’t happy about it, spoke my mind,” Castellanos told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He said that I crossed a line. So, my punishment is I’m not playing.”
On Thursday, Castellanos also took time to thank the Phillies organization and fans for embracing him over the past four seasons.
“To the people of the city, thank you for showing up these past four years. Applauding or booing, you were there,” he wrote. “Remember!! The sharp attention and powerful passion you have for your sports teams are not married to the lens of media companies that cover them. The color of your collective soul is your own to paint…together.”
He concluded, “To all who are reading I wish you strong health and peace of mind.”
