Phillies’ Nick Castellanos says he’s putting the ‘team goal’ ahead of personal success
"Philly would much rather us win a World Series than all of us have good individual years," Castellanos told The Inquirer.
MIAMI — Nick Castellanos has started more games than any outfielder in baseball since 2017.
Let that fact wash over you for a moment, while Castellanos ponders this question: Now that he isn’t playing every day for the Phillies any longer, has he adjusted the way he gets ready for games, physically and mentally?
“Well,” Castellanos told The Inquirer here Saturday, “I don’t really know. I’m just kind of taking it day-by-day and doing kind of whatever I feel like.”
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Before Friday night’s game, that entailed drills with outfield coach Paco Figueroa, batting practice on the field, and hobnobbing with a few friends in his hometown. Saturday, he took swings in the cage, grounders at shortstop (just to get his body moving), and batting practice.
Oh, and Castellanos chit-chatted with his fellow outfielders about putting the team above themselves.
Max Kepler initiated the conversation Friday. He has made more starts than any outfielder in baseball since 2016 (Castellanos was still a third baseman in ‘16). And like Castellanos now, Kepler wasn’t happy earlier in the season to be splitting time.
But Kepler came to accept the role of playing against right-handed pitchers and sitting against lefties. Lately, he has even thrived with it, part of why manager Rob Thomson has strayed from allowing Castellanos to try playing his way out of a slump that has dragged on for two months.
It’s up to Castellanos to respond accordingly.
“I hate not being able to play as much as I want to play,“ he said from a corner of the dugout after batting practice. ”But I can still be happy for these guys for being able to have success of their own. At the end of the day, it’s a team goal, which is to win. Right? Philly would much rather us win a World Series than all of us have good individual years.”
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It’s been a stark change for Castellanos.
A year ago, he became the first Phillies player to start all 162 games since Jimmy Rollins in his 2007 MVP season. His consecutive-game streak reached 236 games before Thomson benched him in June for an inappropriate comment after being replaced for defense. Even so, Castellanos started the next 41 games in a row.
”This is the first time I’ve taken three days off in a row where I wasn’t hurt since ... my whole career."
Castellanos sat out Aug. 9 in Texas against tough righty Jacob deGrom. Since then, his struggles only deepened. He batted .180 with two doubles, two homers, three RBIs, and a .590 OPS in August. It was his fewest RBIs in a month in which he has been healthy since 2014, his first full major league season.
And with trade-deadline addition Harrison Bader and Kepler providing more offense and better defense, Thomson has kept Castellanos on the bench against almost all righties.
“I think it’s just a daily feel of what you need to do,” Thomson said. “The three guys we’ve got running out there now, they’re swinging the bats well.”
Could three consecutive games out of the lineup actually benefit Castellanos in terms of resetting his season?
“I don’t know,“ Castellanos said. ”This is the first time I’ve taken three days off in a row where I wasn’t hurt since … my whole career. So, I have no idea.”
But Castellanos has been in similar holes. In 2023, he batted .214 with a .622 OPS in a 50-game stretch after the All-Star break. Thomson dropped him to seventh in the order and batted him eighth twice. And Castellanos responded by batting .296 with a 1.016 OPS over the last 20 games, then went 9-for-23 with four homers in six games through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The moral of the story: If you hang with Castellanos long enough, it usually pays off.
Well, unless there are better alternatives.
Thomson said Castellanos will start Sunday in the series finale against the Marlins. And with the Phillies scheduled to face Mets lefties Sean Manaea on Monday and David Peterson on Thursday, Castellanos will start at least twice in next week’s showdown with New York at Citizens Bank Park.
And when he doesn’t play?
Surely, Castellanos won’t like it. But he’s intent on supporting his fellow outfielders.
“I mean, we’re all good people,” Castellanos said. “I care a lot about Brandon [Marsh] and his success, not just as a baseball player but as a person. Harrison, I’m getting to know now but seems like a great kid from New York, so obviously I want him to be just as happy and successful as he can be. Kepler, also, great guy. His parents are from Germany, ballet dancers. The way that he kind of looks at things, sees things are different.
“So, I care for each of these guys as people, you know?”
Extra bases
Trea Turner was out of the lineup for the first time since March 31. “We planned this,” Thomson said. “Just to get him off the turf for a day.” Thomson said Bader will likely get a day off Sunday. … Walker Buehler made a triple-A start Saturday night in a tune-up for his scheduled Sept. 12 call-up to join the Phillies in a six-man rotation. … Taijuan Walker (4-7, 3.92 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale. The Marlins haven’t announced a starter.