Philadelphia Phillies fans and media love scrutinizing the daily lineups that manager Rob Thomson puts together for 162 games every season. One of the most recent obsessions has been with the corner outfield spots and specifically right field. More specifically, we’ve all become captivated by the building drama around Nick Castellanos’ current role on the team.

Ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thomson put out a lineup that was missing Castellanos’ name for the second time in three games, per On Pattison’s Tim Kelly. Media in attendance, including MLB.com’s Paul Casella, questioned the Phillies skipper about the status of right field and whether it’s now a full-on platoon situation.

Rob Thomson, Phillies finally admit Nick Castellanos needs to be in right-field platoon

The simple answer is yes. Not that Thomson actually said the word “platoon.” He might as well have though, considering the answer he gave during his pre-game scrum.

“It looks that way,” Thomson said, per Casella. “I mean, you can call it whatever you want, but at this point in the year, I’m gonna put out what I think is the best lineup on any given day to win.”

With Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, a right-hander, on the bump for the finale, Thomson loaded up his lineup with left-handed bats. That included Brandon Marsh in left field and Max Kepler patrolling right in Castellanos’ stead. One notable right-hander in the lineup on Thursday was center fielder Harrison Bader, who has seemingly finally earned the tag of “everyday center fielder” with his outstanding performance of late.

As for Castellanos, on top of his well-known ongoing defensive deficiencies, he has been riding the struggle bus at the plate. He just completed a dreadful August that saw him hit .180 with a .509 OPS and a 26 percent strikeout rate. The 33-year-old did collect a pair of singles and scored a couple of times on Wednesday, but those were his first hits in his last six games. He has a 30.4 percent strikeout rate over that span.

This latest relegation is the third time in the Phillies’ last five games against right-handed starters that Castellanos has started on the bench.

Last week, the veteran seemed nonplussed about being pulled in the ninth inning for a defensive replacement. That was the first time it had happened since his mid-June benching for having words with Thomson after being pulled in the eighth inning of a game in Miami.

It made perfect sense though, since Bader has been one of the top defenders in the league based on advanced metrics, as noted by Casella, while Castellanos has … not. Now that Castellanos seems to be firmly in a platoon in right field, he can likely expect more late-game pulls when he does start.

Castellanos will have to get his bat going again to earn back that playing time. Although it might be too late with the Phillies eyeing the best possible lineups — both on offense and defense — with October right around the corner.