MIAMI — He sat alone, chair facing the center of the Phillies clubhouse, staring straight ahead. Teammates laughed and chatted around him, Orion Kerkering’s first career save and Monday’s 5-2 win lingering among the group.
Nick Castellanos did not take part. It was an unceremonious ending to an unceremonious night for the Phillies right fielder, who was lifted from the game in the eighth inning for Johan Rojas. The next day brought an unceremonious end to a streak that was a source of pride for Castellanos.
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No Phillies player since Pete Rose had started more than 230 consecutive games with the club except Castellanos. His 236-game streak — the second-longest active streak in MLB — ended Tuesday when Castellanos was held from the Phillies’ lineup after what manager Rob Thomson called an “inappropriate” remark upon his removal from Monday’s game against the Miami Marlins.
“I understand the decision,” Castellanos said Tuesday. “It was when I got taken out. I wasn’t happy about it. I spoke my mind. (Thomson) said that I crossed a line, so my punishment is that I’m not playing.”
Thomson has been asked in recent seasons whether he would lift Castellanos for defensive purposes late in games. The answer was no until a few days ago, when Thomson told Castellanos, a right-handed hitter, that removing him late in the game against right-handed pitching was a possibility. Rojas, whom Thomson called an “elite defender,” was on the bench Monday.
“So, you might as well use him,” Thomson said.
It was among just a handful of times Castellanos has been lifted for defense in a close game during his Phillies tenure. By most advanced defensive metrics, Castellanos is one of the worst fielding outfielders in baseball this season. He is third-worst in MLB with minus-10 Defensive Runs Saved. He’s among the worst in plus/minus runs saved above average, with minus-7.
Before games, he is often among the first players on the field working on defense. Paco Figueroa, the Phillies’ outfield coach, said Castellanos is a player who puts in the work and takes pride in it.
“It’s just a work in progress,” Figueroa said. “We’re working on our jumps, our routes and keep working on understanding the game.”
The benching comes as the Phillies visit Miami, near where Castellanos grew up and resides.
Starting all 162 games last season was important to Castellanos, so Thomson deferred to the veteran even if there were times when he might have benefited from a day off. That carried into this season; the Phillies had worried, team sources said, that the added physical strain had started to compromise Castellanos. The team gave him a day at designated hitter last weekend to keep the streak alive.
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But this isn’t the first time Castellanos and Thomson haven’t seen eye-to-eye. Castellanos, according to team sources, has complained about disrespect whenever he’s hitting lower in the lineup. That was something Castellanos voiced in spring training, and he hit seventh on Opening Day. But, about a week into the season, he had reclaimed a middle-of-the-order spot. He’s hit fourth or fifth in 61 of the team’s games this season.
“One of the many things about Nick that I love is that he’s very emotional,” Thomson said Tuesday. “He’s very emotional. He loves to play, and he loves to play every inning of every game.”
Did that pride in playing every day make the streak’s end all the more frustrating?
“It’s his decision,” Castellanos said. “He’s the manager.”
— The Athletic’s Matt Gelb contributed to this report.
(Photo of Nick Castellanos: Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)
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