Nick Castellanos' family goes scorched earth defending Phillies' right fielder

Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos was replaced by Johan Rojas in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Marlins down in Miami on June 16. The move to take Castellanos out of the game at that point sparked controversy after some harsh words were exchanged, leading to his benching the following day. According to MLB.com's Justin Morris, it put an end to his 236 consecutive-game streak.

The benching also ignited a feud for the Castellanos family, as they came to his defense on social media almost immediately. Conversations flew about Castellanos and his questionable fielding ability. Castellanos is currently tied for second-worst in outs above average with -7 as an outfielder in MLB, per Statcast. That's a big reason why he was replaced as a defensive replacement. The Castellanos family wanted nothing to do with that line of thinking.

Nick Castellanos' family goes scorched earth defending his defense

Phillies platoon outfielder Max Kepler attempted a sliding grab the day Castellanos was benched and Nick's mom, Michelle, quoted one X post asking what is going through Castellanos' head right now?

One thing you can say about Castellanos and the way he approaches defense is that he might not have the best range to get to every ball, but he sure knows how to secure them. It's hard to forget that when he went on a 414-game errorless streak, setting the all-time National League record. That streak was unfortunately snapped after an errant throw last year caused a runner to advance, resulting in his first error in three years.

Underlying metrics are also a big part of judging outfielders and their value. Don't tell Nick's wife, Jess that because she was on fire letting everyone know about what real baseball on the diamond looks like versus what shows on Statcast. The day after his benching, Castellanos gets a chance at redemption and steals the win by making a game-saving catch at the right field wall for the final out, per MLB.com's Justin Morris. That moment was only possible after Phillies manager Rob Thomson allowed Castellanos to finish out the game.

X user Phillies Bell (@PhilliesBell) posted saying "The least likely defensive hero is tonight’s Phillies defensive hero. Nicky Three-Buttons, nice catch." Jess Castellanos immediately fired back, saying "Least likely as per stat cast. Most likely as per watching real baseball games."

Jess also went after Devan Kaney of Sportsradio 94 WIP:

And a couple of days later, she followed it up with a general warning to everyone: "Anyone in my mentions right now thinking I’m gonna do anything other than clap loud as hell for my husband is crazy… "

Baseball is a beautiful game and however Phillies fans feel about Castellanos, just know that you should be careful what you wish for if you're itching to jump into the comments and talk about his game in any way. His family has no problem coming to his defense and proving that they're as much a part of the Phillies as the fans are.

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