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Phillies Manager Plays Coy When Asked About Recent Platoon Changes to Lineup

Originally posted on Philadelphia Phillies on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies are currently in first place in the National League East, 5.5 games ahead of the New York Mets.

But there is plenty of work left to do. This isn’t a time for the team to rest on its laurels, knowing how quickly things can change in the standings. Getting swept by the Mets had to have been a bit of a wake-up call, with the team winning four out of six games since.

The Phillies should want to not only keep their division rivals at bay but also aim to stay ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The NL West leaders are two games behind Philadelphia for the No. 2 spot in the league. They will face off against each other in just over a week, with a three-game series set for Aug. 15-17.

A three-game series against the Kansas City Royals is sandwiched between the major matchup with the Dodgers and a four-game set against New York that will go a long way to determining the divisional race. Those seven games will have a major impact on how the seeding will shake out in the league. Because of their importance, manager Rob Thomson isn’t messing around when it comes to his lineups.

Phillies Smart To Scale Back Playing Time of Nick Castellanos

For the series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon, Nick Castellanos wasn't in the starting lineup. It is the second time in three games that he hasn’t started, which led to questions about whether or not a platoon is being deployed. He used some coach speak to answer the question, not going as far as to call it a platoon, but making his intentions clear; who he believes gives the team the best chance to win will play.

“It looks that way. I mean, you can call it whatever you want, but at this point in the year, I’m gonna put out what I think is the best lineup on any given day to win,” he said, via Paul Casella of MLB.com on X.

Nick Castellanos isn't starting for 2nd time in 3 games. Fair to say RF is a full-on platoon?

Rob Thomson: “It looks that way. I mean, you can call it whatever you want, but at this point in the year, I’m gonna put out what I think is the best lineup on any given day to win."
— Paul Casella (@Paul_CasellaMLB) September 4, 2025

Castellanos has been incredibly durable during his time with the Phillies. Last year, he played in all 162 games. The year before, he played in 157 contests. But after a strong start to the 2025 campaign, his production began to fall off.

A run-in between the right fielder and Thomson led to Castellanos being benched on June 17. It was the first game he wouldn’t appear in over a calendar year. And since that point, his performance has never recovered.

In 59 games and 240 plate appearances since, he has a brutal .221/.267/.376 slash line with a -1.718 Win Probability Added. With his production at the plate disappearing, it makes sense for Thomson to scale back the playing time for Castellanos. He doesn’t make a positive impact elsewhere, with some metrics listing him amongst the worst defenders in baseball.

The Philadelphia manager is making the right decision going with the players who are producing. Harrison Bader has been excellent and has warranted being in the lineup every day in center field. Brandon Marsh has also been playing at a high level and improves the team’s defense being the left fielder.

That leaves Max Kepler and Castellanos in an old-fashioned platoon in right field, with Kepler hitting from the left side and Castellanos from the right. It may not be what the two-time All-Star likes, but it is in the best interest of the team that his role is scaled back.