Nick Castellanos has been an important piece of the Philadelphia Phillies roster ever since the team acquired him in free agency prior to the start of the 2022 season. Castellanos has given the Phillies many memorable moments in the postseason, coming up with one huge hit after another. But he's never been a positive defender, and that was very much confirmed on Friday when manager Rob Thomson pulled him in the ninth inning of their eventual 2-1 win over the Atlanta Braves for a defensive substitution in Harrison Bader.
The statistics don't lie; Castellanos doesn't have a single big-league season in which he's rated even average in terms of defensive metrics. But still, every baseball player wants to be good at all facets of the game, and it certainly frustrated the Phillies right fielder that the team felt as though they need the more surehanded glove to close out their Friday night win even though he did pull a rabbit out of his hat with an incredible throw to home plate to gun down Matt Olson.
“Yes, [it is frustrating to be replaced defensively in the ninth],” Castellanos said, per via Tim Kelly of On Pattison.
There are no stats that point to Castellanos being a positive defender in the slightest. For his career, he's amassed a total of -89 defensive runs saved (DRS) and an ultimate zone rating (UZR) of -62.0. That, suffice to say, is horrific. And it's not like he's producing at the plate for the Phillies.
On Friday, Castellanos went 0-3 with one walk, continuing a season of poor production. On the year, Castellanos has a paltry slash line of .253/.294/.406, and he's been worth negative WAR, according to Fangraphs.
Castellanos better watch out; if he continues to complain all while playing poorly, he may not be long for the Phillies' everyday lineup.
Phillies fans rag on Nick Castellanos
Castellanos has a very polarizing personality; he is unafraid to express what he's feeling, even though it lands him in some hot water sometimes. Phillies fans tolerated this when he was producing. But now that he's a negative in nearly every aspect of the ball, he's been drawing the ire of Philadelphia's passionate fanbase.
“When he was hitting, his s**tty attitude was tolerable, now it's wearing thin. This dude is destined to end up a f**king Marlin next year,” X user @swiftonx wrote.
“That’s quite a reaction from the worst defensive OF in the league who also isn’t helping elsewhere. He should just be thankful he’s playing much at all,” @TheWARmonger_ added.
“Weak, selfish mentality from a player. Guy is terrible defensively. The correct answer is ‘it’s my fault I get pulled in those spots and it’s my responsibility to be better defensively.' You’d think he’d care more about trying to win a World Series than his ego,” @RobertSportsBet furthered.
“Selfish attitude. If it helps the team he shouldn’t be frustrated. Have a team first attitude,” @4mtboiiiiiii opined.
“The dude has a negative war for the year and has a .562 OPS since July 1,” @jeffmont18AA pointed out.
