Evaluating Nick Castellanos & Future Role With The Phillies

Manager Rob Thomson sparked intense debate in Philadelphia Phillies conversations during what initially seemed like a four-game road trip without much sizzle.

Nick Castallanos sat in the second game of a series against the Miami Marlins because of an inappropriate comment he made in response to Thomson’s choice for a defensive replacement in the late innings of the series opener.

While the manager has once again come under intense scrutiny, it’s Castellanos himself who is the more consequential issue for the Phillies.

Dave Dombrowski inked Nick Castellanos to a five-year, $100 million contract entering the 2022 season. The veteran right fielder had broken out offensively in the previous two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, his third MLB team.

Castellanos ranked ninth in the majors with an impressive .550 slugging percentage among 162 hitters with at least 600 at-bats during his tenure in Cincinnati. Only Mookie Betts hit more doubles than Castellanos during a seven-year stretch beginning in his breakout season in 2015 through 2021 just before he signed with the Phillies.

His offensive performance in Philadelphia has been underwhelming. His .433 slugging percentage in red pinstripes doesn’t justify the lucrative investment Dombrowski made hoping for a right-handed bat in the heart of the order for a World Series contender.

Castellanos brings notable strengths. He worked tirelessly to pull himself out of an ugly slump early in 2024 to emerge as one of Philadelphia’s best hitters for the final four months of the season. He’s a better baserunner than he gets credit for, and he’s delivered in memorable moments in Red October.

The South Florida native ranked third among Phillies regulars with a .278 batting average when Thomson benched him.

However, his struggles with plate discipline have heightened the past four seasons with the Phillies. He’s contributed heavily to a lineup with a consistently high chase rate that’s burned them at inopportune times.

Castellanos doesn't land in the same category of franchise centerpieces like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, or Trea Turner as a top priority.

The Phillies owe the 33-year-old $20 million per season through 2026, and no MLB trade partner has much incentive to pay the expensive number to a flawed hitter like Castellanos.

Underwhelming production at the plate from Nick Castellanos over the past four seasons is the ultimate bases for the evaluation of his tenure in Philadelphia. However, it’s not the element of his game that landed him on the bench.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder converted from third base into a full-time right fielder in 2018. He’s since racked up the worst statistical total of any MLB player at one position in the FanGraphs Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) metric with a cringeworthy -77 rating. Rafael Devers is second worst during the eight-year span at -57 as a third baseman. 

The metric isn’t a comprehensive evaluation of a fielder. Its calculations directly measure the weaknesses of Castellanos’ ability in right field heavily. His limited range is amounts to -40.1 DRS in the formula.

Outfield assists drive up some corner outfielders’ DRS ratings, and the metric punishes Castellanos' underwhelming throwing arm with a -17.8 rating.

The 13-year major league vet has also played the ninth-most innings at a single position of any player since 2018, creating more opportunity for statistical extremes.

The DRS metric doesn’t effectively credit his – albeit less impactful – strengths. Castellanos set a National League record playing 414 consecutive games from June 2021-June 2024 without recording an error. He’s made most catches within his limited range during his time with the Phillies.

His improvement into baseline competence in right field has created overall defensive flexibility for a lineup that’s shuffled other positions in recent seasons.

The limited strengths have slipped in 2025. Castellanos committed glaring misplays on the club’s most recent homestand with a routine popup in foul territory that landed disappointingly, a questionable judgment on a ball hit against the right-field wall, and a bad angle attempt to cut off a ball toward the right-center field gap.

Phillies outfielders and middle infielders alike haven’t communicated well in recent weeks calling each other off popups in between their zones of responsibility.

The strengths Castellanos had offered the team in his first three seasons in Philadelphia aren’t benefiting a struggling defense. The weaknesses have become significantly more noticeable.

Thomson has built a reputation as a players’ manager who communicates well and successfully balances the preferences of Phillies stars with track records in other MLB organizations. He aims to optimize his lineup to win ball games while keeping players satisfied with their roles and with the Phillies as an organization.

The mild-mannered skipper honored Castellanos’ wishes to play 162 games last season despite the early-season slump that kept him under the Mendoza line past Memorial Day.

However, Thomson is evaluating an aging player on the back end of his contract at age 33.

Castellanos’ declining defense has become a liability that plagues the club’s already shaky defense. He no longer brings the same threatening power bat from his prime MLB seasons that pushes a manager to grant his preferences.

Johan Rojas doesn’t solve the club’s outfield woes. He does add significantly better range than Castellanos as a replacement in the late innings in a reshuffled outfield with Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler in the corners.

Thomson’s judgment of an “inappropriate comment” carries weight. The manager has shown reasonable temperament and extremely light public criticism in past instances of benching players.

Nick Castellanos made the inappropriate comment in response to a tactically sound baseball decision to insert a more reliable outfielder who could help close out the Marlins. It’s no surprise he cost himself a streak of 236 consecutive starts. He shouldn’t expect to finish upcoming games in the outfield without noticeable defensive improvement.

He'll almost certainly remain with the Phillies through the end of 2025. Castellanos still has the talent to impact a lineup that hasn't hit its stride approaching the midway point of the season. However, it's lofty to expect the version of the hitter from 2016-2021 who earned the nine-figure contract.

Will he remain with the Phillies until the end of the deal after the 2026 season? If Dombrowski finds a taker, probably not.

Thomson unsurprisingly downplayed the disagreement, but he'll simply have to manage to the best of his ability with a hitter who hasn't met high expectations in four seasons with the Phillies.