The Philadelphia Phillies still aren’t expecting Nick Castellanos to return next season, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski confirmed to reporters Tuesday (h/t Crossing Broad’s Luke Arcaini).

Castellanos is currently signed through 2026 and set to earn $20 million next season, per Spotrac. The Phillies have been expected since the end of the 2025 campaign to either trade or release him this offseason, per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb.

The Phillies will likely need to eat some of Castellanos’ salary in order to facilitate a trade for the veteran right-fielder.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale posited last week the Phillies would have to take on at least $17 million to move the remainder of Castellanos’ contract.

In that case, Nightengale named the San Diego Padres as a potential fit after the club missed out on Nolan Arenado.

Castellanos played multiple seasons earlier in his career for both the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers and could potentially eye a reunion with either team should he split with Philadelphia.

The Chicago White Sox have recently been tied to free agent outfielder Michael Conforto by the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, and could potentially consider pivoting to Castellanos depend on how much money the Phillies take on to shop him.

The Phillies could potentially model salary retainment for Castellanos off the St. Louis Cardinals’ recent trade of Arenado.

The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired Arenado from the Cardinals, in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Jack Martinez, after the Cardinals agreed to take on the majority of Arenado’s remaining salary.

Arenado was owed $42 million over two seasons, and the Cardinals are paying $31 million to the D-Backs as part of the deal, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

That will leave the Diamondbacks paying $5 million in 2026 and $6 million in 2027 to have Arenado on the roster, per Spotrac.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the Padres had been interested in acquiring Arenado, but that San Diego was “unwilling” to take on the remaining $11 million on his contract.

The Athletics were also interested in trading for Arenado, and would have been willing to take on more salary in the deal than the D-Backs, per Rosenthal.

Arenado had a no-trade clause on his contract, however, and Rosenthal reported he “indicated he would not necessarily approve a trade to the A’s.”

The A’s apparent willingness to take on money could make them another potential fit for Castellanos.

Castellanos slashed .250/.294/.400 last season with 17 home runs and 72 RBI in 147 games for the Phillies.

His defense suffered in right field as he recorded minus-12 outs above average in 2025, per Baseball Savant.

The Phillies already have Castellanos’ replacement in right fielder Adolis García, who signed with the club in December, and the DH spot is occupied by Kyle Schwarber.

A team with a hole at DH could consider exclusively bringing him in for his offensive contributions, especially if the Phillies make his remaining salary a more affordable prospect.

The Phillies have just over a month left to find a new spot for Castellanos before the club opens Grapefruit League play on Feb. 21 in Florida.