The San Diego Padres have agreed to terms with outfielder Nick Castellanos and right-handers Griffin Canning and Germán Márquez, a person with knowledge of the deals told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Padres hadn’t announced the deals, which are pending physicals.
After finishing with 90 wins and making the playoffs for the fourth time in six years last season, San Diego is adding three major league veterans to bolster its depth in the early days of spring training.
Castellanos joins the Padres two days after the Phillies unceremoniously released the veteran slugger, ending a tumultuous tenure. Philadelphia will have to pay nearly all of Castellanos’ $20 million salary this season, with the Padres only on the hook for the $780,000 major league minimum.
Castellanos is a two-time All-Star who spent the past four seasons with the Phillies after starting his career with the Tigers, Cubs and Reds. He is a career .272 hitter with 250 homers and 920 RBIs, but his effectiveness declined sharply at the plate last season.
He also admitted this week to bringing a beer into the dugout after he was pulled from a game last June. Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he was proud of Castellanos for acknowledging his mistake.
After spending his career in the outfield and at third base, Castellanos seems likely to get a shot to play first base for the Padres, who have no set starter at the position after parting ways with Luis Arraez.
Canning and Márquez both could get a chance to win a job at the back of the Padres’ starting rotation, which is currently led by Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove and Michael King. The final two spots are up in the air, with Randy Vásquez the most likely incumbent contender for a spot.
San Diego will have a new look on the mound after Dylan Cease and closer Robert Suarez left in free agency and Yu Darvish underwent elbow surgery, but its bullpen still looks like one of the strongest in baseball.
Canning could be a candidate to join that group when he returns to Southern California. The Orange County native and UCLA product spent his first six major league seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, who traded him to Atlanta in November 2024.
He signed with the New York Mets a month later and went 7-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 16 starts last season before rupturing his Achilles tendon in June, an injury that could delay his return to the field this season.
The 31-year-old Márquez joins an NL West rival after spending the first decade of his career with the Colorado Rockies, going 68-72 with a 4.67 ERA. After missing most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to Tommy John surgery, the normally durable starter was 3-16 with a 6.70 ERA last season, his career collapsing along with the Rockies’ season.
Márquez is joining the Padres on a minor-league deal. Canning is getting a one-year deal.
San Diego also added veteran slugger Miguel Andujar last week as general manager A.J. Preller made good on his promise to keep shopping for veteran talent well into February.
___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
