Castellanos worked with hitting coach Kevin Long over the offseason to simplify his swing following a disappointing first season in Philadelphia, Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Castellanos homered just 13 times while slashing .263/.305/.389 in his Phillies debut, a line which made him a below-replacement player according to WAR when factoring in his poor defense. Sliders posed a particular problem, and opposing pitchers knew it, throwing him sliders 32.0 percent of the time compared to 21.8 percent against the rest of the league. Long noticed while reviewing the outfielder's film that Castellanos had added multiple extraneous movements of his bat, head and hands, which may have given him less time to see the pitch and decide to lay off as it dove out of the zone. It's too early to say if the changes will have any impact, but there's at least now a narrative to support those betting on a bounce-back.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Out following Monday's clincher
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Castellanos is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Astros, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Like many of the Phillies' regulars, Castellanos gets the day off after securing a postseason berth Monday. Dalton Guthrie is starting in right field and hitting eighth.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: On bench for nightcap
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Castellanos isn't starting the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Nationals.
Castellanos started Saturday's matinee and went 1-for-4 with a run, an RBI and a strikeout. Matt Vierling will take over in right field and bat eighth for the second game of the twin bill.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Catches breather Thursday
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Castellanos is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.
Castellanos went 3-for-4 in Wednesday's game, but he returned from nearly a four-week absence the day before, so he will be held out Thursday for maintenance purposes. Expect him to get an at-bat -- or perhaps more -- at some point in Thursday's contest.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Comes off IL on Tuesday
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Castellanos (oblique) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday's game against the Cubs.
He missed almost the whole month with a right oblique strain. Castellanos is hitting .297 with five home runs in 37 games in the second half and did not go on a rehab assignment.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: No rehab assignment needed
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Castellanos (oblique) will not need a rehab assignment and is expected to return sometime during next week's series against the Cubs, which runs Tuesday through Thursday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
Castellanos has missed the last three weeks due to a strained right oblique, but his recovery is evidently going well. He hit off a pitching machine Friday and apparently convinced the Phillies that he won't need any game action before returning to the team. The Phillies currently sit in playoff position but have yet to lock up a wild-card berth, so it makes sense that the team would want to have Castellanos back as soon as possible.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Hitting against machine
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Castellanos (oblique) hit off a high-velocity pitching machine Friday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Castellanos hasn't played in consecutive games since the end of August and has been slowly working his way back from an oblique strain. He expressed his desire to avoid a rehab assignment in Triple-A Lehigh Valley despite interim manager Rob Thomson's recommendation that he do so. It's uncertain what lies in Castellanos' near future, but a rehab assignment would figure to keep him out of the big-league lineup for another week.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Working toward return
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Castellanos (oblique) ran around the bases Tuesday, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Castellanos was put on the injured list earlier this month with a right oblique issue. Interim manager Rob Thomson said that the "best-case scenario" for the veteran outfielder is a rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this weekend. If all goes well, there remains a possibility he can return before the end of the season.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Takes dry swings
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Castellanos (oblique) was able to take some dry swings Saturday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Castellanos has been out with an oblique injury for the past two weeks. He paused his rehab work briefly earlier this week after he continued to feel sore while swinging, but he's been able to start back up again. While that's certainly a positive sign, he still has work to do before he's activated off the injured list.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Still feeling sore
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Castellanos (oblique) felt sore when swinging earlier this week and has backed off rehab work for a few days, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Castellanos has been out since early September with an oblique strain. The Phillies haven't provided an updated timeline for his return, but time is getting short for him to play a meaningful number of games before the end of the regular season. He at least hasn't been fully shut down, as he's merely stopped swinging and is still able to throw and do work in the outfield.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Sent to IL with oblique injury
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The Phillies placed Castellanos (oblique) on the 10-day injured list Sunday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Castellanos missed three games earlier in the week due to turf toe, but it's a right oblique strain that will now force him out until at least the second half of September. According to Gelb, the Phillies are classifying Castellanos' oblique injury as "mild," leaving the team optimistic that he'll be in line for a minimum-length stay on the shelf. Dalton Guthrie was summoned from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to provide depth in the outfield while Castellanos is out, but it'll be Nick Maton who receives the starting nod at Castellanos' usual spot in right field Sunday against the Giants, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Dealing with oblique issue
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Castellanos, who isn't starting Saturday against San Francisco, will undergo an MRI to determine the extent of a right oblique injury that he sustained Friday against the Giants, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Castellanos was removed from Friday's loss to the Giants in the bottom of the sixth inning since he apparently sustained an oblique issue during his second at-bat of the game. He recently missed three games with turf toe, and the extent of his oblique issue is unknown. It's not yet clear whether he'll be forced to miss additional time, but his MRI should help provide more details regarding his status.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Getting MRI on oblique
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Castellanos will undergo an MRI on his right oblique Saturday, which explains why he isn't in the lineup against the Giants, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Castellanos missed three games earlier in the week with turf toe, but he's now dealing with what appears to be an entirely separate injury. The outfielder reportedly felt something in his oblique during his second at-bat of Friday's blowout loss and wound up exiting the game. Whether or not he's at risk of missing an extended period should become clear once the results of his MRI are known.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Not starting Saturday
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Castellanos isn't in the lineup Saturday against the Giants.
Castellanos returned from a toe injury Friday and went 0-for-2 with a strikeout during the blowout loss to the Giants. He'll be out of the lineup for the fourth time in the last five games while Matt Vierling starts in right field and bats ninth.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Returns to lineup Friday
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Castellanos (toe) is starting Friday against the Giants.
Castellanos missed the last three games due to turf toe, but he'll start in right field and bat sixth during Friday's series opener in San Francisco. He's recorded hits in 17 of his last 18 games, hitting .329 with three homers, five doubles, seven runs, seven RBI and two stolen bases during that time.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Sitting again Wednesday
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Castellanos (toe) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
The 30-year-old has sat out the past two games due to turf toe, and the Phillies will keep him on the bench Wednesday ahead of a scheduled day off Thursday. Castellanos should remain day-to-day heading into Friday's series opener in San Francisco. In his absence, Matt Vierling will receive another start in right field Wednesday.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Remains out of lineup
Rotowire
Castellanos (toe) is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Castellanos sat out Monday with a toe injury, and he will be held out Tuesday for the same reason. Like he did Monday, Matt Vierling will start in right field in Castellanos' place.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Sitting with toe injury
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Castellanos isn't starting Monday's game against Arizona due to turf toe, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
It initially looked as though Castellanos was simply in store for a night off, but the team disclosed later in the day that the slugger has been dealing with a case of turf toe for the last 10 days. According to Gelb, Castellanos could miss the next few games while on the mend, but he might be available to pinch hit. Matt Vierling figures to see additional time in right field until Castellanos feels healthy enough to return to the starting nine.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Gets rare day off
Rotowire
Castellanos is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Castellanos went 24-for-72 (.333) over his last 17 games, but he has not had a day off since the second half began, so interim manager Rob Thomson decided it was finally time for a break. Matt Vierling will enter the lineup in Castellanos' place.
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Phillies' Nick Castellanos: Homers in lopsided win
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Castellanos went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's victory over the Pirates.
Castellanos homered off righty starter Tyler Beede to lead off the third inning. The outfielder has displayed power in his last 17 games with a .542 slugging percentage in 72 at-bats. In addition, the 30-year-old has failed to record a hit in just one game with eight multi-hit games during that span.
