The Philadelphia Phillies will be without Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber for a good chunk of July, which will burden another of Philadelphia’s veteran bats with added responsibility.
Philadelphia, 54-28, entered Saturday with the best record in Major League Baseball.
As the Phillies look to maintain their excellence without Harper and Schwarber, they’ll be relying on increased production from 32-year-old outfielder Nick Castellanos, who has underperformed so far this season.
Castellanos, a two-time All-Star, is hitting .222/ .282/ .379 this year, far below his career averages of .273/ .322/ .469.
If Castellanos can get out of the funk he’s in, the Phillies should be just fine in July, especially with Alec Bohm’s bat slicing at an All-Star clip.
Still, it’s undeniable that Philadelphia needs Castellanos more than ever right now, which provides him with a special chance to make up for his dull first half.
In a report from The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, Castellanos acknowledged the opportunity in front of him while explaining that his mindset will more or less remain the same with Harper and Schwarber out.
“I don’t think that just because circumstances change all of a sudden, like, now I need to go and search for more,” Castellanos said, per Gelb. “I think I’ve done a great job of staying consistent and staying levelheaded. Not flipping out when things personally don’t go my way. And not being over-the-top excited when we are firing on all cylinders. So, for me, all I do is just continue to run my race.”
In correspondence with Castellanos’ remarks, Gelb reiterated in his report that the Phillies need Castellanos to step up. “The Phillies need contributions from others,” Gelb said. “Castellanos, who has underperformed, is one. The Phillies have lost three veteran on-field leaders. He can alter the narrative of his season by delivering when the Phillies need him — on and off the field.”
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