Nick Castellanos talks defense amid struggles in outfield – Phillies Nation

PHILADELPHIA — Nick Castellanos ventured out to the warning track in right-center field at Citizens Bank Park, held up his glove and jumped for a 98 mph fly ball off the bat of Toronto’s Ernie Clement.

The right fielder couldn’t come up with the tough attempt, and Clement cruised in for a double. Phillies manager Rob Thomson thought Castellanos had a shot to grab it.

“The timing was off on his jump,” Thomson said. “Usually, he makes that play.”

The outfielder disagreed. He felt that the ball was out of his reach.

“I checked. It hit too high,” Castellanos said. “It hit like two feet higher than where my glove was.”

Either way, the ball bounced off the chain-link fence, putting a runner who later scored on base. Ultimately, that run didn’t make too much of a difference as Philadelphia beat the Blue Jays, 3-2, on Saturday to secure a series win. But the sequence served as another example of a potential putout in right field not being converted and turning into a run for the other team.

Castellanos has had a solid season at the plate this year, batting .280/.324/.420 with six home runs and 17 doubles in 70 games, but his defensive stats have tanked his overall value; he has a -0.2 fWAR in 2025 compared to his above-average 107 wRC+. He’s never graded out well as a defender in his time as Phillies right fielder, and the numbers have dropped even further this season.

Entering Sunday, Castellanos has -8 outs above average and -10 defensive runs saved on the year, the worst marks of any outfielder in the major leagues. He’s on pace to dip well below his -8 OAA and -11 DRS from last year.

The metrics say his range has gotten worse. Does it feel that way to Castellanos?

“I’m not really sure, but I do know that that system’s never favored me in my whole career,” Castellanos said, referring to OAA.

These metrics are certainly not everything, especially not even halfway into a season. Castellanos, who’s played every game since the start of the 2024 season, made the point that OAA is grading his defensive chances against those of other players, including part-timers who might only be in there in more advantageous situations. Maybe the system doesn’t perfectly rate each aspect of defense.

“I think that it picks and chooses how,” Castellanos said.

But beyond the advanced statistics, there have been some plays that, to the eye, had the chance to be made. On Wednesday against the Cubs, Castellanos overran a foul ball in the fourth inning and couldn’t snare a line drive into the gap in the eighth inning. Both batters eventually came around to score for Chicago’s only runs in a 7-2 Phillies win.

On the first play, Castellanos ran across the line in right field on a foul pop from Carson Kelly and lost the ball in the afternoon sun. By the time he picked it back up, it was behind him. Kelly stayed alive in the at-bat and doubled.

On the second play, Castellanos just couldn’t quite flag down a hard-hit double off the bat of Ian Happ.

“I know that I liked my route,” he said. “I just didn’t get there.”

Like Saturday, these plays did not cost the Phillies the game in any way, and the club is looking sharp after winning four of five in this current homestand. But Castellanos’ outfield play is notable, considering the fact that he plays out there just about every day with Kyle Schwarber entrenched as the designated hitter. (Thomson did say before Saturday’s game that Castellanos could get a DH day with Schwarber playing the outfield soon.)

While the Phillies did trot out a Brandon Marsh-Johan Rojas-Max Kepler outfield at the end of Friday’s lopsided victory, they do not typically replace Castellanos in right field at the end of games. He will be in there for key outs all throughout the year and, presumably, in the postseason should Philadelphia make it.

In his first year with the Phillies in 2022, Castellanos became known for his sliding catches in big spots during the team’s run to the World Series. He might have been limited, but he made those clutch plays on the move. Although it would never win him a Gold Glove, Castellanos getting back to that level of defense would probably be a boost right now. Some extra range or jump could help a lot.

“Nick, normally,” Thomson said Wednesday, “is a guy that, he’s gonna catch whatever he can get to.”

Despite some of the struggles, Castellanos is focused on keeping it simple in the field and being able to come down with the routine plays.

“Usually,” Castellanos said, “I just go off of: make the play, hit the cutoff man.”