Nick Castellanos Is Making Waves At the Wrong Time

The Philadelphia Phillies should not be sweating anything right now. Their biggest worry is supposed to be lining up their rotation for the playoffs. Alec Bohm is back in the lineup and Trea Turner is scheduled to face live pitching when the team returns home. A playoff bye is in sight, and the team has a chance to claim the best record in baseball. However, one guy is threatening to send the Phils into October on a bit of a Debbie Downer. This is not the first time Nick Castellanos has made questionable comments this season as it relates to his playing time. But they do come at a point of the season when all of the focus of the team should be on winning the World Series.

This post was originally going to be about which starting pitcher will not get a turn in the National League Division series between Ranger Suarez, Aaron Nola and Jesus Luzardo. That can still be debated in this space sometime over the next week. However, when cruising around looking for news, I came across this latest Castellanos quote, courtesy of On Pattison’s Grace Del Pizzo:

Q: Do you understand why you haven’t been playing as much as your normally would? 

Castellanos: Uh, I don’t really talk to Rob [Thomson] all that often, so that’s just … I play whenever he tells me to play. And then I sit whenever he tells me to sit. 

Q: So the coaches or Rob don’t sit down and explain to you what they want you to do in whatever role they want you to have? 

Castellanos: Uh, communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience. But also, I grew up communicating with somebody like my father, which is very blunt, direct and consistent. 

I attached the full transcript here. It reads like a guy who is frustrated with a deceased role. Castellanos does go on to say that him saying he was “unhappy” would be “creating a narrative”. He clearly is trying to thread a needle between stating his clear disappointment and the team’s goal of winning a World Series. Nothing else in the interview suggests that Castellanos is trying to cause a distraction (at least intentionally) for the Phillies. However, it is a bad look to be saying a week before the season ends that the manager hasn’t been a good communicator with him.

As guy who has enjoyed much success during the course of his career, Nick Castellanos is feeling hurt with a decreased role. I can’t blame Rob Thomson for employing his outfield rotation. Castellanos’s production has slipped. I also don’t blame him for his reaction to all of the questions. I just wish he could find a way to express his feelings a little differently.