By now you have heard about the “situation” with the Phillies in regards to Nick Castellanos having his playing time reduced and being replaced for defense in late innings. After being replaced for defense against the Braves earlier this week, Castellanos gave a somewhat terse response to the situation. So, just what do the numbers say about the situation?

There was a point earlier in the season where Nick Castellanos had played every game for the Phillies and was just written into the right field slot while center field rotated between Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas and left field saw Max Kepler giving up some time in favor of Marsh, who was hitting well and providing strong defense. Castellanos though was a steady member of the outfield and had even played in both ends of two doubleheaders in the first part of the season. He also came up with some big defensive plays. Of course, there were a few that got away and overall, Castellanos was not seen as a plus defensive outfielder. Still, he was in the lineup and playing well.

Tracking Castellanos playing time

On June 16th in Miami, Castellanos was replaced late in the game for defensive purposes and made what Rob Thomson termed an “inappropriate comment” upon being replaced. Thomson benched him the following day, marking the first time that Castellanos did not start a game this season. Prior to that he had not only played every game, but had started in both ends of two doubleheaders. His next day off came on July 26th with the Phillies playing at Yankee Stadium. Then came the trading deadline and the Phillies acquired Harrison Bader.

In the month since Bader became a Phillie, Castellanos has had five “days off” – August 9, 16, 20, 25, and 28 – and has been replaced for defensive purposes on a few more occasions, which didn’t happen in the first half of the season. Every time that Castellanos has not started a game this season, it has been Kepler who started in right and it was against a right-handed pitcher.

Kepler hitting left-handed and Castellanos batting right-handed begs the question: “how does Castellanos hit righties?”

Here are Castellanos’ splits for 2025:

  • vs LHP – 5-21-.240/.290/.400
  • vs RHP – 11-40-.257/.295/.405

For comparison, here are Max Kepler’s numbers:

  • vs LHP – 1-5-.196/.246/.304
  • vs RHP – 13-37-.217/.306/.391

Going by the numbers, playing Kepler over Castellanos because there is a right-handed hitter doesn’t make sense, but if Rob Thomson believes Castellanos needs some days off, then playing Kepler in right and Marsh in left makes sense. Also, with Harrison Bader to play in center rather than light hitting Johan Rojas, the move makes some sense since Bader was acquired on July 31st. The question is, does Castellanos need that many days off? The numbers seem to show that maybe he does: April .265, May .300, June .276, July .207, August .184. Meanwhile, Kepler’s month-by-month overall numbers: April .238, May .188, June .162, July .196, August .273.

Castellanos’ reaction

The latest issue came when Castellanos was again replaced for defensive purposes against the Braves and also was not in the starting lineup, ironically on the night when the Phillies erupted for 19 runs. Here’s what transpired.

Here’s a tip to people being interviewed. One word answers only makes it seem like there is a lot more to the story that you’re not saying. Part of the job of reporters is to get to that story. A better answer would have started with “yes” and then explained what is frustrating about it. Something to the effect of “yeah, it’s frustrating because I want to be out there helping this team. I don’t want to be on the bench watching, I want to be in the lineup every day and it’s frustrating to sit and watch someone else do what you consider to be your job. The bottom line though is that it’s Rob’s decision and there isn’t a lot that I can do about it other than let him know that I want to be out there.” That would have ended the story.

In the field…

Castellanos is not the defensive liability that some, including Rob Thomson, make him out to be. In his time with the Phillies, he has made just three errors – none this season – and has a career fielding percentage of .993 in right field. In nine seasons of playing right field, a total of 1,913 games, Castellanos has made just 14 errors.

He also has 49 career assists from right field, but there is a bit of a dip in the numbers. In 2022 and 2023, Castellanos had 18 outfield assists with the Phillies, but over the past two seasons, has just seven.

Again, for comparison, Kepler has played 950 career games – just about half of Castellanos’ total – in right field and has a career fielding percentage of .992 and has nearly as many assists, 43, in a lot fewer games, which shows that Kepler does have a better arm. That’s especially glaring with Castellanos’ assist numbers falling over the past two seasons.

The verdict

There are some numbers that justify subbing out Castellanos late in a close game, mainly the arm strength and accuracy. In simply catching the ball, Castellanos is good – as good as Kepler – but he does appear to have lost some of the arm strength and accuracy that he used to have in throwing the ball. Or, are fewer runners taking chances against Castellanos because they know he has a good arm?

It says here that subbing out Castellanos for defense makes very little difference. You might as well leave him out there.

As for the added days off, Kepler has hit better over the last month, but Castellanos is the type of hitter with very similar numbers against righties and lefties, so there is no need to sit him against right-handers. Meanwhile, Kepler’s numbers against lefties make good reason to not play him in those games, which Thomson has done, preferring to go with Weston Wilson in left in those games.

Again, it says here that occasional days off are warranted for Castellanos just as they are for every player. Four days off in two weeks certainly isn’t warranted. Perhaps Thomson is harboring a bit of a grudge for those “inappropriate comments” made by Castellanos back in July.