Phils say Castellanos benched due to comment

Outfielder Nick Castellanos was withheld from the Philadelphia Phillies' lineup Tuesday night against the Marlins for making an "inappropriate comment" on Monday, manager Rob Thomson told reporters in Miami.

"One of the many things about Nick that I love is that he's very emotional," Thomson said. "He loves to play, and he loves to play every inning of every game. I just thought last night he made an inappropriate comment after he came out, and so today, he's not going to play. And I'm going to leave it at that."

Castellanos' consecutive games streak ended at 236. The last game he missed for the Phillies was on Sept. 30, 2023.

Thomson said Castellanos made the comment after he was removed from Monday's game in the eighth inning for defensive purposes. He was replaced by Johan Rojas, who played center field while Max Kepler shifted from center to take over for Castellanos in right field.

Kepler also played right field in Tuesday night's game, going 1-for-4 in the 8-3 Phillies loss.

"I wasn't happy about it, spoke my mind," Castellanos said Tuesday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. "He said that I crossed a line. So, my punishment is I'm not playing."

Castellanos, in his fourth season with the Phillies after signing a five-year $100 million contract in 2022, is hitting .278 with seven home runs and 36 RBIs this season.