Things haven't exactly been ideal for Nick Castellanos of the Philadelphia Phillies over the past year or so. There have been periods throughout Castellanos' time in Philadelphia when he’s swung the bat at a very high level, but for the most part, his defensive struggles and problems at the plate are tough to ignore.
In the 2025 campaign, Castellanos has swung the bat worse than ever throughout his career, posting a career low 90 OPS+ outside of his 11 games in his first season with the Detroit Tigers.
Rob Thomson understands that if the Phillies want to be the team they're looking to be in the future, it might require not playing Castellanos as much.
How Is Nick Castellanos Handling Limited Role?
That's happened a bit over the past few weeks, and some believe that Castellanos could be upset about it.
However, when speaking to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he admitted that he's taking it day by day, and he wants to do whatever helps the team win.
“Well,” Castellanos told The Inquirer, “I don’t really know. I’m just kind of taking it day-by-day and doing kind of whatever I feel like.”
“I hate not being able to play as much as I want to play,“ he said from a corner of the dugout after batting practice. ”But I can still be happy for these guys for being able to have success of their own. At the end of the day, it’s a team goal, which is to win. Right? Philly would much rather us win a World Series than all of us have good individual years.”
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Any professional would be upset with not playing as much, especially someone who has been in the league for 13 seasons. There's a reason why Castellanos is respected in the Phillies clubhouse.
However, it's good to hear that he's sticking up for his guys, and for what might seem like a surprise to Phillies fans, he's more worried about the team than himself.