The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the top teams in baseball this season, but not without undergoing plenty of changes. From the revamped bullpen with Jhoan Duran and David Robertson to the Zack Wheeler injury, it’s been an ever-changing season for the Phillies.
But one of the biggest and most noteworthy changes of late has been the new outfield platoon employed by Rob Thomson since the MLB trade deadline. After picking up Harrison Bader from the Minnesota Twins, the outfield has looked different.
Nick Castellanos, meanwhile, has been put into a platoon with Max Kepler. Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer shared Castellanos’ reaction to the change in role, revealing how the veteran outfielder is taking this change in stride.
Nick Castellanos Reacts to Outfield Platoon
“I hate not being able to play as much as I want to play,” Castellanos said. “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.”
This mindset from Castellanos is an encouraging sign, as earlier in the year, he butted heads with Thomson over being pulled late in the game as a defensive substitution. Now, instead of treating any benching negatively, he’s approaching it differently.
He’s rooting for the success of his fellow outfielders and is looking forward to being a contributor in any way he can, despite his smaller workload.
Castellanos’ change in mindset is helpful for the Phillies, as the platoon has worked so far. While the long-term viability is still up in the air once the postseason comes around, for now, the platoon is set to continue.
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Compared to his 2024 role, when he started all 162 games, Castellanos’ role on the Phillies in the later stages of the 2025 season is significantly diminished. But, there’s a good reason for the Phillies’ new platoon in right field.
Castellanos is hitting just .194 in the last 25 games since the beginning of August. His .530 OPS is well below league average, and is also worse than the rest of the outfield in the same time.
The Phillies have played five games in September so far, and Castellanos has played in just one of those games. He’s starting the series finale against the Miami Marlins on Sunday, but his playing time in September will be significantly less than that of every other month since he’s come to Philadelphia.
But, despite his changing role and the previous reaction to being benched, Castellanos is treating this new role a lot more amicably. He’s rooting for his teammates and focusing on helping the Phillies in any way possible to accomplish the ultimate goal of winning the World Series.
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