Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos banged up his knee after catching a fly ball in right field in New York on July 25. The play didn’t seem to mean anything at the time, but patellar tendinitis has lingered in Castellanos’ knee since then. He spoke about it directly on a recent podcast with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts.

Castellanos went in depth about how the injury has affected him (subscription required), per Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I mean, it hasn’t been 100%, that’s for sure,” Castellanos said in Arizona, per Lauber, addressing the injury directly. “But I’m not going to sit here and say that’s the reason. I’ve done and performed well hurt before.”

Even with Castellanos getting banged up back in July, he still managed to play every time his number was called. It can be a little confusing as to why he decided to try to play through the injury instead of taking some time to rest. It’s admirable the toughness baseball players have through the grind of a 162-game season, but perhaps the time off would have done Castellanos a favor. Now he’sin a platoon role with his recent drop in offense.

 knee injury could explain his second-half performance

Phillies manager Rob Thomson doesn’t seem too worried about the injury hindering his outfielder’s performance.

“Yeah, I consider him pretty healthy,” Thomson said, per Lauber. “But it does flare up every once in a while. I think it’s been bothering him on and off since that game in Yankee Stadium.”

Phillies fans know that Castellanos is competitive. He wants to play every day if given the chance. Those chances have now become fewer and farther between with how he’s played. Before the injury, Castellanos had a .270 batting average and a .745 OPS in 102 games.

In the following 41 games, since July 26, he has hit to a .207 batting average and just a .587 OPS. On the season, he’s hitting .253 with a .702 OPS, 17 home runs and 71 RBIs.

If Castellanos was truly injured this whole time, he’s seemingly hurting the team by continuing to try to play. A stint on the injured list could have given him the rest needed, while also giving him a chance to reset mentally.

Castellanos has caused quite the storm with his comments regarding the communication between him and Thomson. The injury and his poor play on top of it only add to the confusion and possibly give less optimism to Phillies fans that the situation will get better.

Castellanos has spoken repeatedly about doing what he can to help the Phillies win a World Series. Perhaps separating himself a little more and giving himself proper rest in the future will prevent any kind of free fall like he has experienced this season.