Phillies Could Have Major Issue Brewing Between Nick Castellanos and Rob Thomson

The Philadelphia Phillies seemed to be gaining momentum.

They had won five straight games entering Tuesday's contest against the Miami Marlins, looking much more like the version everyone expected to see throughout the season compared to what was on display previously when they went through an ice-cold slump.

But a report regarding why Nick Castellanos was out of the lineup on Tuesday put the Phillies right back into the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

More News: Phillies Bench Nick Castellanos for 'Inappropriate Comment' That 'Crossed a Line'

It was revealed that the star slugger had been benched by manager Rob Thomson for an "inappropriate comment" that was made after he was pulled from Monday's game late as part of a defensive substitution.

Castellanos didn't like that he had been removed, said something to Thomson about it and then was subsequently benched for the next contest because he crossed a line.

Not much was given beyond that.

Both Castellanos and Thomson said all the right things after the incident, with the slugger stating that he accepted his punishment since Thomson is the manager, with the skipper also stating he loves the fact that Castellanos is emotional.

Water under the bridge, right?

Maybe not.

Subsequent reporting by Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic (subscription required) suggests that there could be more underlying issues between the two.

"But this isn't the first time Castellanos and Thomson haven't seen eye-to-eye," she wrote. "Castellanos, according to team sources, has complained about disrespect whenever he's hitting lower in the lineup. That was something Castellanos voiced in spring training, and he hit seventh on Opening Day."

For a competitive guy like Castellanos, it's easy to see why he would be upset about all of that.

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He takes pride in playing every day, and he's not going to be happy when he's pulled, especially when it comes to a defensive substitution since he works so hard on that aspect of his game.

However, the reality is Castellanos is one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball.

Making a defensive substitution when either Brandon Marsh or Johan Rojas are on the bench is something that can directly benefit this team when the games are close. So if this is going to be his reaction going forward, then that is a tough thing for Thomson to navigate.

Varnes also added some more color to what took place on Monday after the game.

According to the insider, when teammates were celebrating Orion Kerkering's first-career Major League save, "he sat alone" with his "chair facing the center of the Phillies clubhouse, staring straight ahead."

For all intents and purposes, Castellanos is a great teammate. So one incident like this shouldn't change that perception.

But it is notable that he couldn't put the team ahead of himself in that moment and didn't celebrate a milestone of a young teammate.

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This is now something that needs to be monitored going forward.

How Castellanos reacts if he is pulled again will be telling, and if he starts slumping at the plate again and Thomson feels like it's best to move him down in the order, what he does if that decision is made could another thing that causes a clubhouse rift.

Hopefully the two are able to work past these differences.

Castellanos is back in the lineup on Wednesday batting fourth in the order.

But everyone on this team has to be bought in if they are going to win a championship, and this bit of information coming out about the star right fielder and the manager isn't a good sign.

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