Phillies bench Nick Castellanos after 'inappropriate comment' during Monday's game

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jun 17, 2025

Published in Baseball

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MIAMI — Nick Castellanos’ iron man streak has ended at 236 games.

The right fielder was out of the Phillies’ lineup against the Marlins on Tuesday for the first time since Sept. 30, 2023, when he sat out the first game of a doubleheader against the Mets. Castellanos had the second-longest active streak in the major leagues behind Atlanta’s Matt Olson.

Manager Rob Thomson made the decision to hold him out after an “inappropriate comment” Castellanos made after being removed in the eighth inning Monday for Johan Rojas as a defensive substitution.

“One of the many things about Nick that I love is that he’s very emotional,” Thomson said. “He loves to play, and he loves to play every inning of every game. I just thought last night he made a an inappropriate comment after he came out, and so today, he’s not going to play. And I’m going to leave it at that.”

Castellanos said he understood it was the manager’s decision.

“I wasn’t happy about it, spoke my mind,” he said. “He said that I crossed a line. So my punishment is I’m not playing.”

Castellanos said in spring training that starting 162 consecutive games was not necessarily a goal of his this year.

“It is, however, a goal of mine to be consistent in my work and always put myself in a position to be healthy and help the team,” he said in February.

Thomson’s decision to pull Castellanos in the eighth inning for defense was a reversal in his usual management style. Castellanos grades out poorly using StatCast defensive metrics, and his outs above average of -8 is the lowest of any major league outfielder. Even so, Thomson typically only removes Castellanos in late-game situations of blowout games.

On Monday, the Phillies were hanging on to a 3-1 lead over Miami. Rojas took over in center, sliding Brandon Marsh to left and Max Kepler to right. Rojas’ 4 outs above average put him in the 94th percentile of MLB outfielders.

“I talked to Nick about it the other day, and just moving forward, because we have this run of right-handed pitching, and you got Rojas sitting there on the bench. He’s really kind of an elite defender, so you might as well use him,” Thomson said of the decision after Monday’s game.

Castellanos, who is from South Florida, was on the field before Tuesday’s game chatting with fans watching batting practice.

Stott still in

The Phillies had an injury scare late in Monday’s game when Bryson Stott showed discomfort in his arm following a swing in the ninth inning. He was checked by trainers and finished the at-bat with a groundout.

“My backswing was a little awkward and got the hyperextension zinger thing again,” Stott said.

Just over a year ago — coincidentally, also at LoanDepot Park — Stott had tweaked something on a swing that caused a lingering nerve issue in his elbow. It continued to affect him throughout the season, which he disclosed in spring training.

This time, however, it’s not as serious. Stott was back in the lineup Tuesday, and went through batting practice feeling good before the game.

“Last year, my hand would have felt hot for two days, but I woke up and it was fine,” Stott said.

Stott entered Tuesday hitting .146 with a .167 slugging percentage in June. Amid his struggles, he was recently dropped down in the batting order against right-handers, where he had previously been in the leadoff spot.

But he had made some hard contact over the last few games, including a double Monday before the awkward swing. He didn’t want to take a day off unless absolutely necessary, in hopes that he would see continued improvement.

“I told Topper and [hitting coach] Kevin [Long] that my swing’s finally coming out now, and the results aren’t there yet, but my swings have been a lot better,” Stott said. “I’m hitting the ball on the barrel more. … I don’t want to go back to square one and try to find it all over again.”

Extra bases

Ranger Suárez (5-1,2.32 ERA) is scheduled to start against Miami on Wednesday.