MILWAUKEE — The Phillies spent most of August mixing and matching their outfielders.
The plan for September might be more clear cut.
The outfield picture may have finally come into focus when manager Rob Thomson once again sat Nick Castellanos for Thursday’s 2-0 win over the Brewers at American Family Field. Ranger Suárez tossed six scoreless innings and Trea Turner broke through with a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh as the Phillies pushed their NL East lead to six games — and moved to within 4 1/2 games of Milwaukee for the top seed.
The biggest potential long-term development, though, came in the outfield. It was the sixth time in the past 16 games that Castellanos was not in the starting lineup — including two of the three games for this crucial series against the first-place Brewers.
The right-handed-hitting Castellanos sat out Monday’s series opener against righty Jacob Misiorowski. He started on Wednesday against lefty Jose Quintana, then sat the finale against righty Freddy Peralta.
So, is it safe to say Thomson plans to use straight platoons in left field (Brandon Marsh and Weston Wilson) and right field (Castellanos and Max Kepler) moving forward?
“Well, it looks that way,” Thomson said. “I mean, you can call it whatever you want, but at this point in the year, I’m going to put out the lineup that I think is the best lineup on any given day to win a ballgame.”
That lineup appears to consist of Marsh, Harrison Bader and Kepler against right-handers, and Wilson, Bader and Castellanos against lefties.
“Yeah, there’s still a bit of a rotation, if you want to call it that,” Thomson said. “If you want to call it a platoon, doesn’t matter to me.”
Castellanos acknowledged last week that it was frustrating and “it’s a big adjustment” adapting to a part-time role. Over the previous two seasons, he started 305 games in the outfield — tied with Juan Soto for the most by any outfielder during that span.
Castellanos’ frustrations boiled over earlier this season in Miami, where he made “an inappropriate comment” to Thomson after being removed from a June 16 game for a defensive replacement. The outfielder was benched the next day.
Thomson says it’s been different this time around.
“He hasn’t said a word,” Thomson said. “He’s been good. I think he’s being a pro, and understands that he’s ready to help the club whenever it’s needed.”
Of course, that raises questions about Castellanos’ role not only over the final month of the regular season and into the postseason, but also for 2026. He has one season remaining on the five-year, $100 million deal he signed prior to the 2022 season.
Castellanos’ name has circulated in trade rumors each of the past two offseasons, and sources told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that the Phillies were open to the idea of trading him as far back as the winter following the 2023 season.
With only one year and $20 million still owed to Castellanos, it may be easier to strike a deal following the 2025 campaign. For now, though, the Phillies are solely focused on winning the World Series this season.
Whether it be in a platoon or a rotation, Castellanos remains a part of that mission — and the Phillies know just how quickly he can heat up.
Last postseason, Castellanos went 7-for-17 (.412) in the NLDS against the Mets. The rest of the team combined to go 17-for-112 (.152) in a series in which the offense mostly disappeared.
Currently, Castellanos is in another one of those prolonged downswings. Along with his well-documented defensive struggles, he’s slashing .200/.246/.317 with a .563 OPS since the start of July.
Of 148 qualified hitters during that span, Castellanos entered Thursday ranked:
• 143rd in batting average
• 147th in on-base percentage
• 147th in slugging percentage
• 147th in OPS
Elsewhere in the outfield, Bader is slashing .307/.374/.477 since being acquired at the Trade Deadline. He also made a potential home run-robbing catch in the bottom of the ninth inning to help Jhoan Duran lock down his 10th save with the Phillies.
“He’s incredible,” second baseman Bryson Stott said of Bader’s catch. “As long as it’s not like way gone, I think he has a chance at it.”
Meanwhile, Marsh is slashing .300/.346/.450 since the start of June. Kepler is slashing .291/.344/.527 in his past 15 starts.
“I mean the other three are so hot right now,” Thomson said. “So I was just staying with that, to tell you the truth.”
That can change in a hurry — especially if Castellanos goes on one of his runs.
