Phils' Castellanos 'really thought' he was joining Marlins until Jeter left

For the better part of March, Nick Castellanos was certain he was heading home to Miami.

Castellanos, who ultimately signed with the Philadelphia Phillies late in spring training, revealed Thursday that the Miami Marlins heavily pursued him following the lockout. But that apparently changed quickly when CEO Derek Jeter surprisingly resigned from the club on March 11.

"Up until (Jeter) and the Marlins parted ways, I really thought I was going to be a Marlin," the 30-year-old said Thursday before his Phillies faced Miami at LoanDepot Park, according to Man On Second Baseball's Joe Frisaro.

Jeter served as the Marlins' CEO for four seasons and was a key part of majority owner Bruce Sherman's successful bid for the club in 2017. He helped overhaul the Marlins' farm system during the franchise's latest rebuild.

The former New York Yankees icon's departure from Miami sent shockwaves throughout baseball, but some were not surprised. CC Sabathia, Jeter's former Yankees teammate, said on his podcast last month that the Hall of Famer was "pissed" at the Marlins - and added that before Jeter quit, he was working hard to sign Castellanos.

A little over a week after Jeter resigned, Castellanos - a native of nearby Hialeah, Florida - signed a five-year, $100-million contract with the Phillies. He enters Thursday sporting a .969 OPS with a homer, four doubles, and four RBIs through his first six games with Philadelphia.

The Marlins did sign a pair of free-agent outfielders, Jorge Soler and Avisail Garcia, to multi-year contracts this winter while Jeter was still in charge.