Phillies' Nick Castellanos publicly criticizes manager Rob Thomson

Nick Castellanos has gone from being the Philadelphia Phillies’ everyday right fielder into a platoon with Max Kepler, in a reflection of how both players have delivered underwhelming numbers in 2025.  The change has been a little more jarring for Castellanos given his longer history with the team and longer track record as a lineup regular, and it is clear that the veteran isn’t pleased with how things have played out.

Nick Castellanos critical of manager Rob Thomson

Speaking with the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber and other media after the team's 8-2 win over the Diamondbacks, Castellanos stressed that he is “here to do whatever I can to make sure that Philadelphia wins a World Series ring,” and that any talk that he is unhappy “would be creating a narrative.”  However, he also indicated some hard feelings toward manager Rob Thomson, rhetorically asking “who says that?” when a reporter noted that Thomson has been praised for his directness by several players.

“Communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience…. There’s just been times where things have been said, and then, over the course of years, I’ll have expectations because I’ll latch on to what’s being said and then actions would be different,” Castellanos said.  “And then I’m kind of left just thinking and whatnot.  But again, like it is what it is.  Adapt, do what I can.  At the end of the day we’re here to win a World Series.”

While Castellanos’ comments indicate a longer-lasting issue, the relationship between player and manager drew public attention on June 17, when Castellanos was benched for the Phillies’ 8-3 loss to the Marlins.  The previous night, Thomson said Castellanos made an “inappropriate” comment after being removed from the game for defensive purposes, and the outfielder was sat out a game as punishment.  Missing that June 17 contest snapped a personal streak of 236 consecutive games played for Castellanos.

As to how the two are communicating lately, Castellanos (perhaps tellingly) referenced playing time, saying “I don’t really talk to Rob all that often.  I play whenever he tells me to play, and then sit whenever he tells me to sit.”

Nick Castellanos' performance

Disputes between players and managers are as old as baseball itself, so while Castellanos’ candor about the situation is newsworthy, it may not create any short-term issues within the Phillies’ clubhouse.  Despite Castellanos’ displeasure, the numbers also suggest that the platoon is working — since the start of September, Kepler is hitting .263/.373/.500 over 51 plate appearances, and Castellanos is batting .323/.353/.548 in 34 PA.

Even with this recent hot streak, Castellanos has still managed only a 94 wRC+, and an overall slash line of .255/.299/.411 (with 17 homers) over 566 PA.  Between his subpar offense and lackluster defense, Castellanos has been worth -0.4 fWAR this season — the second time in his four years in Philadelphia that the veteran has posted a sub-replacement performance.

All in all, Castellanos has generated 1.0 fWAR and an exactly average 100 wRC+ over his four seasons with the Phillies.  It wasn’t what the team expected when signing the slugger to a five-year, $100M free-agent deal, and the final $20M of that contract is still owed to Castellanos for the 2026 season.  While that isn’t an insignificant sum for a team to just eat, it is fair to wonder if the Phillies might consider simply releasing Castellanos this winter, unless a trade can be worked out that would still very likely require the Phils to cover the bulk of the remaining salary. For now, Castellanos is simply focused on the playoffs, and refused to consider his future with the Phillies.  

“Why would I do that in front of what we have ahead of us?  That would be really selfish and take away from what we’re trying to do as a group….I’m here to win.  [Owner] John Middleton is paying me money so that I can help the Philadelphia Phillies win a World Series,” he said.