MILWAUKEE — The Philadelphia Phillies continued to adjust their outfield lineup as the regular season nears its end, with manager Rob Thomson opting to sit Nick Castellanos in Thursday’s 2-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Ranger Suárez delivered six scoreless innings, and Trea Turner provided a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning. The victory extended the Phillies’ lead in the NL East to six games and brought them within 4 1/2 games of Milwaukee for the top seed.
Thursday marked the sixth time in 16 games that Castellanos was not included in the starting lineup, including two of three games against the first-place Brewers. The right-handed hitter did not start Monday’s series opener against righty Jacob Misiorowski, played Wednesday against lefty Jose Quintana, and sat again for Thursday’s finale against righty Freddy Peralta.
When asked if he planned to use platoons moving forward—Brandon Marsh and Weston Wilson in left field, Castellanos and Max Kepler in right field—Thomson said: “Well, it looks that way. I mean, you can call it whatever you want, but at this point in the year, I’m going to put out the lineup that I think is the best lineup on any given day to win a ballgame.”
The current approach appears to be Marsh, Harrison Bader and Kepler facing right-handers, while Wilson, Bader and Castellanos play against lefties. Thomson added: “Yeah, there’s still a bit of a rotation, if you want to call it that. If you want to call it a platoon, doesn’t matter to me.”
Castellanos has acknowledged frustration with his new part-time role after starting 305 games over the previous two seasons—tied with Juan Soto for most among outfielders during that period. He described it as “a big adjustment.” Earlier this season in Miami, Castellanos made “an inappropriate comment” toward Thomson after being removed from a game on June 16 for defensive reasons and was benched the following day.
Thomson noted an improvement since then: “He hasn’t said a word,” Thomson said. “He’s been good. I think he’s being a pro, and understands that he’s ready to help the club whenever it’s needed.”
Questions remain about Castellanos’ future role as he enters the final year of his five-year contract signed before 2022. His name has appeared in trade rumors each of the last two offseasons; sources told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that Philadelphia considered trading him as early as winter following 2023. With only one year and $20 million remaining on his contract after this season, some speculate a deal could be more feasible after 2025.
Despite speculation about his future or changing role, Castellanos remains part of Philadelphia’s postseason plans. In past playoffs he showed potential impact—becoming MLB’s first player with back-to-back multi-homer postseason games during 2023’s NLDS before slumping against Arizona—and performed well last postseason by hitting .412 during an NLDS series where much of Philadelphia’s offense struggled.
Currently however Castellanos is experiencing another prolonged slump both offensively and defensively; since July he is batting .200/.246/.317 (.563 OPS), ranking near or at the bottom among qualified hitters across several categories.
Other outfielders have contributed positively: Bader is hitting .307/.374/.477 since joining via Trade Deadline acquisition and recently made a crucial catch late in Thursday’s game helping secure Jhoan Duran’s tenth save for Philadelphia. Second baseman Bryson Stott commented on Bader’s defense: “He’s incredible,” Stott said of Bader’s catch. “As long as it’s not like way gone, I think he has a chance at it.”
Marsh has hit .300/.346/.450 since June began while Kepler owns a .291/.344/.527 line over his last fifteen starts.
“I mean the other three are so hot right now,” Thomson said regarding recent outfield choices. “So I was just staying with that, to tell you the truth.”
Thomson indicated roles could shift quickly if performance changes: That can change in a hurry — especially if Castellanos goes on one of his runs.
