This hasn't been the season that Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos was likely envisioning for himself when he rolled into spring training in February. Through tough times at the plate and in the clubhouse, the veteran has been a lightning rod of controversy this year, all while the Phillies are running into the postseason with the second-best record in the majors.
Castellanos, for all the drama that has been swirling around him over the past few months, came up clutch for his team on Tuesday. Pinch-hitting in a big spot in the 10th inning, he came through with a single over the shortstop's head to bring home Garrett Stubbs to tie the game at five.
Regardless of how the game eventually turned out — it was a discouraging 6-5 loss in 11 innings — the moment showed that Castellanos is ready to back up his words and perform for the Phillies when asked.
Nick Castellanos showed he's ready to help Phillies achieve goal of winning World Series
If you missed the most recent drama, Castellanos was ambushed by reporters over the weekend in Arizona and dropped some less-than-flattering soundbites about manager Rob Thomson's communication style. But among all the remarks that were inevitably blown out of proportion, Castellanos also made sure everyone knew that he's fully on board in trying to bring a World Series to Philadelphia, per MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
"I’m here to do whatever I can to make sure that Philadelphia wins a World Series ring,” Castellanos said after last Friday's game in which he hit his 250th career home run, per Zolecki. “So whatever that goal looks like, just do the best I can with that.”
The most encouraging part about Castellanos' 10th-inning appearance on Tuesday wasn't even that he came through at the right time after sitting on the bench for four hours. It was how he went about it, fighting Marlins left-hander Josh Simpson for an eight-pitch at-bat.
The chase-prone 33-year-old, who has an alarming 27.5 percent strikeout rate this month, didn't offer at any of the three pitches out of the strike zone. He fouled off four pitches, working a full count, before jumping on a belt-high changeup for the big game-tying knock.
CLUTCH CASTY! pic.twitter.com/AMPVK5Lq26
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 24, 2025
After hitting just .180 with a .509 OPS in 24 games in August, Castellanos has seen his playing time drastically reduced over the course of September. He has started just eight of the Phillies' 20 games this month. The good news for the Phillies is that he has started to turn things around at the plate in his limited opportunities, batting .324 with an .864 OPS in 40 August plate appearances.
Ironically, after butting heads with Thomson earlier in the season about being replaced for defensive reasons, he also made a nice sliding catch in the top of the 11th.
Despite the previous rumblings of discontent from the fourth-year Phillie, this is the version of Castellanos the team needs in Red October. Fans know that he can carry the offense when he's hot. Hopefully Castellanos can prove to the coaching staff that they can rely on him in the playoffs, even if he's not a full-time starter.