May 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos (8) looks on against the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Even with the NL East-rival New York Mets in town for a three-game set with the Phillies that will determine the division lead, Rob Thomson was asked Friday about the Nick Castellanos saga in Miami earlier this week.
Specifically, Thomson was asked about his decision-making late in Thursday night's 2-1 win over the Marlins. After Castellanos was benched Tuesday when he made an "inappropriate comment" to Thomson upon being lifted for a defensive replacement Monday, the manager conceded he probably wouldn't take the outfielder out early Wednesday.
But he had a chance to do so in a 2-1 game Thursday, and elected not to. Why?
"Well he played really well the night before," Thomson said. "I use my eyes. I don't necessarily use the statistical component. I look at it, but I use my eyes and he played very well Wednesday night so I left him in."
Why didn’t Nick Castellanos come out for a defensive replacement late in last night’s game? Rob Thomson explained to @TimKellySports. pic.twitter.com/EtE47uZixo
Castellanos did have a nice night in the field in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Marlins, highlighted by his game-ending catch against the right-field wall to preserve a victory:
Scott Franzke: “You gotta be kidding me the way baseball works out sometimes!”
(@_piccone)
pic.twitter.com/GpKtZnI3is
Castellanos had a few questionable plays in the field on last homestand, so it would be easy enough to assume that's the reason he was taken out for a defensive replacement Monday. From there, you could just take Thomson at his word that he let it ride with Castellanos defensively Thursday because he had played so well in the field the night before. But while there probably is some truth to that, it isn't that simple.
Last homestand might have been the point where the Phillies — Thomson and the front office — decided that it had gotten to the point where it made sense to remove Castellanos defensively late in games. Your eyes saw that. But there's data to back it up: Castellanos has minus-10 defensive runs saved and minus-8 outs above average in 618 innings in right field this year. He's never graded out well defensively in terms of those metrics, but a year ago he had minus-11 DRS and minus-8 OAA across 1,363 2/3 innings in right field, numbers he's on pace to blow by this year.
There's reason to believe that in explaining why he was lifted defensively Monday — a possibility that Thomson said he did tip the veteran outfielder off to prior to Monday — Castellanos had some of the negative advanced numbers presented to him. In fact, he told Lochlahn March of The Philadelphia Inquirer that's he's now requested a packet from president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski at the conclusion of each series that goes over the metrics.
“So I can understand it,” Castellanos said. “That way, I can know how to be competitive with it.”
Castellanos also had this cryptic Instagram post Friday, seemingly referring to his attempt to get a better grasp on the statistics that are cited by critics of his:
Why didn’t Nick Castellanos come out for a defensive replacement late in last night’s game? Rob Thomson explained to @TimKellySports. pic.twitter.com/EtE47uZixo
His wife, Jess, was also critical of some of the advanced metrics earlier this week on X:
Fuck statcast
414 straight games no errors, national league record holder.
Eyes off the computer, watch the game
So it can't be just as simple as Castellanos played so well in the field Wednesday that the Phillies have gone back on the plan to pull him for a defensive replacement late in close games.
There probably is an optics element to this. Even though it came after a difficult homestand in the field, pulling Castellanos defensively for the first time in Miami — which is essentially a home series for him — wasn't ideal timing. Taking him out the night after he made a fairly difficult play to win the game also would have been a tough sell to some.
But Castellanos batted in the top of the ninth inning, so there definitely would have been a baseball argument in a one-run game to taking him out late. Not only has Castellanos struggled defensively according to the metrics, but you upgrade the entire outfield by bringing Johan Rojas into center field, pushing Marsh to his better position of left field and having Max Kepler in right field. That's your best defensive outfield. Your best offensive outfield unquestionably includes Castellanos, but if he wasn't due up for a few innings, why not lift him?
J.T. Realmuto and Rafael Marchán are out taking early BP. Nick Castellanos trotted out and is now playing defense in right field. pic.twitter.com/GTRE0PKdKD
Is it that Thomson and the Phillies have determined that whatever defensive upgrade they get by pulling Castellanos isn't worth making him upset? Or were they just allowing cooler heads to prevail in Miami before returning to the plan to lift Castellanos in certain circumstances for a defensive upgrade? Time will tell.
What we do know is that this story isn't over. Whether Castellanos isn't lifted again defensively or he is, it's going to be newsworthy.
