De George: Risk of hurt feelings has turned into big reward for Rob Thomson

PHILADELPHIA For most of the last two years, Rob Thomson has managed the ebbs and flows of his veteran hitters on vibes.

When it works, it goes by the label of savvy man management.

Most of the time, in crafting a team that could consistently win baseball games, Thomson sought to first ruffle no feathers.

When Alec Bohm stood at his locker at Citi Field after the Phillies capitulated to the Mets in the NLDS last year and wondered why the media would deign to ask him if hed change anything for next season, implicit in his stubbornness was that he had a manager who would back him for continuing to do things that hes always done.

So this year, even as Nick Castellanos continued to struggle, the reasonable expectation was that Thomson would keep managing as before.

Castellanos could be one of the games worst defensive outfielders and could flail at the plate in increasingly lengthy droughts between what could be astounding hot streaks, and Thomson would just be OK with it, penciling the No.

9 position next to jersey No.

8, all the better to avoid running the risk of hurt egos.

Instead, Thomson in the last two weeks has started making the bold (by his standards) call to use Castellanos as a less-than-everyday player, and hes been rewarded.

Thomson has resolved to go with the hot outfield hand, with four reasonable options to choose from, plus southpaw-hitting specialist Weston Wilson.

And so, Harrison Bader has looked like the upgrade the Phillies sought at the trade deadline, already an elite defender who has added substantial offense.

Brandon Marsh has recovered from a spring reset to be excellent.

Max Kepler has come back from his Mendoza-line-broaching dead of late July.

And even Castellanos is contributing, with the only RBI of Monday nights 1-0 win over the New York Mets that should put an end to even the jingliest of Phillies nerves about the National League East race.

Bader is hitting .320 with an .889 OPS in 32 games since arriving from the Twins.

His 3.6 combined WAR this year is the second-highest of his career, trailing only his 2021 season with St.

Louis.

Marsh hit .324 in June, .271 in July, .284 in August and has started September 10-for-19.

From a .201 average on July 26, Kepler has hit .261 with four homers and 13 RBIs in 25 games.

At 15 homers, he has a legitimate chance to finish third on the team in that category behind Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

Baders excellence with the bat is the crucial addition.

As an elite defender in center field, playing him is never a liability.

He and Marsh are both playing too well to take out of the lineup, and Marsh in left field becomes an elite defender for that position.

With that, something had to give either Thomsons loyalty to Castellanos or his best judgement in crafting the best lineup.

Just his hitting ability, Thomson said of what hes learned about Bader since his arrival.

Hes really improved over the years, and hes got all kinds of power.

It comes out every once while.

I think we all know how good a defender he is, how good of a thrower he is, but I think that the offensive side has impressed me.

Castellanos obviously wouldnt like it.

This was the player who was salty about being lifted for a defensive replacement in Miami earlier in the season, then benched a game for an inappropriate remark to Thomson.

Much as Castellanos took pride in playing all 162 games in 2024, his level of play justified it.

That has been less tenable this year.

So without Castellanos, the Phillies have put together nights like the 10-8 win in Milwaukee powered by Baders bat.

Or the 2-0 win over the Brewers saved by Baders glove in center.

Or last Fridays dismantling of the Marlins in which Bader, Marsh and Kepler all homered.

Castellanos, to his credit, has responded.

He hit .141 in his last 19 games of August, but he has hits in all four of his starts in September.

His two-run double in the first inning Tuesday against Sean Manaea made him 5-for-12 to start the month.

The sample size is small, but if the Phillies can utilize him in the best matchups, they could maximize his return and thus get the best out of the lineup overall.

The rhetoric of being all-in, of doing whatever it takes to prevent the playoff heartbreak Castellanos and his teammates have felt each of the last three years, means any of the veterans should be OK with team success superseding their individual numbers.

It makes it an easier sell for Thomson with the rest of the clubhouse.

But it took Thomson making the bold move to start it, and hes reaping the benefits.

Contact Matthew De George at [email protected]..

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