Going forward, this is how it will be: The Philadelphia Phillies will have a four-man outfield rotation, and Nick Castellanos will just have to deal with it. But the situation isn’t without innuendo — and a little drama — from Castellanos, who cloaks very little when asked a question from the media.
Yeah, Casty isn’t happy.
Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos has voiced concern over losing playing time. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
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Castellanos — the everyday right fielder for the Phillies for the past three-and-a-half seasons — is suddenly losing playing time. He recently got benched in favor of Max Kepler when the Phillies faced a right-handed starter. And he got pulled for a defensive replacement on Friday night when Harrison Bader entered the game in the ninth inning to play center field, thus moving Brandon Marsh to left and Kepler to right.
It was the first time Castellanos was lifted from a game for defensive reasons since June 16 in Miami when he made an “inappropriate” comment to Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who benched Castellanos the following game.
“(Castellanos) makes near the last out in the eighth inning,” Thomson said, “so we put Bader in because he’s the best defender we’ve got. … I think we’re all at the point now where we’re all-in. Whatever is best for the team to win a game that night, we’re all-in. Check your ego at the door and let’s go.”
But can Castellanos check the ego? “Absolutely,” Thomson said. “We don’t need to make a big deal out of this. He’s frustrated because he wants to play and that’s it. I understand that. I wouldn’t respect a guy if he wanted to come out of the game.”
There’s a tad more drama to this: Castellanos made sure to mention that it was first base coach Paco Figueroa — not Thomson — who told him that he was exiting Friday night’s game.
So it was more explaining from Thomson on why he personally didn’t deliver the news to Castellanos.
“Because he was on base (when the eighth inning ended),” Thomson said. “I wasn’t going to run out there (on the field). I couldn’t tell him before he went to the plate. If he hits a home run, I probably don’t take him out of the game.”
The best way Castellanos can ensure more playing time: hit better. Over his past 21 games, his slash line is awful: .165/.214/.442. And since the All-Star break, he’s batting .192 with four home runs. In the past, Thomson gave Castellanos time to solve his slumps, but it looks like that has changed.
Castellanos also ranks at the bottome or near it in several defensive metrics — though some critics say defensive metrics are a bunch of bunk. And for what it’s worth, Castellanos can whip up a beautiful play in the field, especially when the pressure is on, as he did with Friday night gem:
