"Deciding their relationship ruptured when Nick Castellanos angrily brought a beer into the dugout after he was pulled from a game, the Phillies released the outfielder even though they owe him $20 million for the final season of a $100 million, five-year contract. In a four-page handwritten letter posted Thursday, Castellanos admitted he broke a team rule by bringing a Presidente beer into the dugout last June "after being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family.""
"Phillies manager Rob Thomson made the move for defense with a 3-1 eighth-inning lead during a 5-2 win at Miami on June 16. "I'm proud of him because he owned up to what he did and, hey, we all make mistakes," Thomson said Friday. "Nick had helped us out in a lot of ways here. He's had some big hits and big plays and helped us win a lot ballgames. So I do, I wish him all the best.""
""A lot of times when a good player has their role change with the club, it can cause some friction, and his role changed last year from where it was," Dombrowski said. "I mean you played every single day for a lot years in a row, and so sometimes that can contribute to it. Sometimes then people have debates between themselves where they're not all on the same page."
Nick Castellanos was released by the Philadelphia Phillies after angrily bringing a Presidente beer into the dugout when he was pulled from a June game. The team will still owe him $20 million for the final season of his five-year, $100 million contract, while any other club can sign him for the $780,000 minimum. Castellanos admitted breaking a team rule in a four-page handwritten letter. Manager Rob Thomson praised his accountability and contributions. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski cited a changing role, locker removal, and a need for a change of scenery as reasons for the separation.
Read at ESPN.com
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