Career Milestone of Phillies Star Nick Castellanos Gets Overshadowed With Controversy

The Philadelphia Phillies already secured their spot in the playoffs and their second consecutive NL East title, but the players made it known they aren’t done chasing success in the regular season.

After they dropped the finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers and headed to the desert to begin their series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, they had their sights set on getting back into the win column. And with the Milwaukee Brewers losing earlier in the day, the Phillies had an opportunity to make up some ground in the pursuit of the top seed in the National League.

Down 2-0 after the first inning, Philadelphia needed to put together a rally for that to happen, which is exactly what occurred throughout the length of the game. Brandon Marsh hit an RBI double in the top of the second inning and Harrison Bader tied things up in the top of the fifth. A Weston Wilson RBI gave the Phillies the lead in the top of the sixth, but the one-run advantage they held didn’t feel comfortable based on the offensive firepower the Diamondbacks have.

Nick Castellanos changed that in the top of the eighth inning with a two-run homer to left field, originally coming into the game in the sixth as a pinch-hitter for Max Kepler as Rob Thomson continues his platooning strategy of those two sluggers.

The home run was big in more ways than one, as that was the 250th longball Castellanos has hit in his Major League Baseball career.

Normally, reaching that type of milestone for a player would be a cause of celebration and reflection for the player and everyone who covers the team. But that’s not what happened on Friday night with Castellanos and the media members.

Instead, things devolved into asking Castellanos about his future with the team and his relationship with Thomson. And the open and honest Castellanos made some headline-worthy comments while he also was combative in regards to certain questions he was asked.

By now, it’s clear that Castellanos and Thomson don’t have the best relationship. Thomson previously benched Castellanos for a game after the slugger made what was deemed to be an “inappropriate” comment to the skipper after being pulled from a game back in the summer. The working relationship has only gotten more frosty as Castellanos has become a platoon player, and his comments reflected that when he revealed he doesn’t speak with his manager much.

“I don’t really talk to Rob all that often,” he said, per Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required). “I play whenever he tells me to play, and then sit whenever he tells me to sit.”

That’s pretty straightforward, but it’s also not uncommon for managers and players to have relationships like that. Not everyone is buddy-buddy in professional sports, especially when it comes to difficult things like playing time. However, it’s what Castellanos said next that really made headlines.

“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,” Castellanos stated.

The comments Castellanos gave regarding Thomson weren’t the only things that made headlines, though. The local media also came under fire for the line of questioning they had for Castellanos, where it came off as an interrogation regarding how he views his future with the team and whether or not he’s currently happy.

Count Ben Verlander, current MLB analyst, former professional player and the younger brother of future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, as someone who was taken aback by the questions Castellanos was asked.

“Why would I do that in front of what we have ahead of us?” Castellanos responded when asked if he was thinking about next year. “That would be really selfish and take away from what we’re trying to do as a group.”

The very next question after that began with the media member stating that it sounds like Castellanos is unhappy, which the slugger responded by saying, “That would be creating a narrative.”

All in all, it was a mess after the game on Friday. And the comments made by Castellanos about Thomson and the questions that were being asked to Castellanos regarding his future really took away from what was another great win for the Phillies that came as a result of Castellanos reaching a notable MLB milestone.

But through all of this noise, he is still keeping his focus on the task at hand, which is winning the World Series this year.

“I’m here to win,” he said. “John Middleton is paying me money so that I can help the Philadelphia Phillies win a World Series.”