The Philadelphia Phillies are benching Nick Castellanos for their Tuesday matchup against the Miami Marlins. Manager Rob Thomson discussed the move.
The Phillies took down the Marlins in Monday’s season opener, 5-2. In the top of the eighth inning, Castellanos flew out to Kyle Stowers while the Phillies had a 3-1 lead. Thomson decided to replace Castellanos with Johan Rojas to play defense in the bottom of the inning. That’s reportedly when Castellanos made an “inappropriate comment,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Lochlahn March.
For reference, Rojas has a plus-four outs above average while Castellanos has a minus-eight, according to Baseball Savant. Castellanos has never been known for his defense, and Thomson decided to go with the better defender. Castellanos also spoke on the matter.
“I wasn’t happy about it, spoke my mind,” said Castellanos, according to March. “He said that I crossed a line. So my punishment is I’m not playing.”
Castellanos is in his 13th big league season. He is a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger. The Phillies are two games back of the New York Mets in a tight division race, so benching Castellanos is not an ideal move. However, Thomson is sending a message to his team. It will be the first time all season that Castellanos will not play in a game.
Follow The Sporting News On WhatsApp
There are still plenty of games for the Phillies to catch the Mets. However, if they lose a close game on Tuesday and end up losing the division by one game, this game could end up looming large.
More MLB: Braves trading away 8x All-Star now ‘plausible’ after Red Sox deal Rafael Devers
