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4w ago

Phillies Shift to Kepler–Marsh–Bader vs. Righties, Relegating Castellanos to Platoon Role

The shift reflects Castellanos’ prolonged slump alongside surging production from Max Kepler, Brandon Marsh and Harrison Bader.

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Overview

  • Philadelphia has settled on Kepler, Marsh and Bader against right-handed pitching, leaving Nick Castellanos benched in three of the past four games with his starts largely reserved for lefty matchups.
  • In Friday’s 9-3 win in Miami, Kepler, Marsh and Bader each homered, reinforcing the current lineup configuration.
  • Performance trends drove the change: Castellanos is hitting .199/.253/.309 since the All-Star break, while Kepler since early August has posted a .267/.318/.483 line with a sharply reduced 12.1% strikeout rate.
  • Since Harrison Bader’s Aug. 1 activation, Phillies outfielders have produced 15 home runs with a .775 OPS, including 10 homers and an .813 OPS over the last 20 games.
  • Castellanos is in year four of a five-year, $20 million contract, and reporting indicates the Phillies may explore trade options or, if none materialize, could weigh an offseason release.