Erik Kratz warns Phillies fans who 'wanna run this guy out of town,' referring to Nick Castellanos

Former Phillies catcher Erik Kratz has built a successful media career as one of the hosts of "Foul Territory." During a recent episode, he went on a rant about the future of Nick Castellanos with the Phillies.

"...it's not very nice to Nick. You also want to look up on Baseball Reference how many errors Nick has in the outfield. Zero. One of two guys that shows up in the playoffs for the Phillies in a year in and year out basis. It's Nick Castellanos. Be careful everybody when you're like, 'I wanna run this guy out of town.' Go watch him play. 

"In my opinion, I think Philly fans still look at the batting average and when it's on the board, they're like, 'Look at his batting average. This guy stinks. We gotta get Nick outta here.' I don't think you were saying that in the '24 playoffs, when he was coming up clutch, clutch in the playoffs. The reality is when you play in a city and you speak your mind, everybody thinks you better be hitting .300, or you're not a good player anymore because you opened your mouth. And that's why I think, sometimes players don't wanna say things. They don't wanna buck the system. The reality is that the best teams have people that are willing to say things and step up, not just for your own selfish ambition, but for the betterment of the team. And I think Nick truly believed he should have been a guy that was out there every single day." 

"He's one of two guys who shows up in the playoffs for the Phillies on a year-in and year-out basis."@ErikKratz31 believes the Phillies should think twice about parting ways with Nick Castellanos. pic.twitter.com/oRn1O0Jmqs

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) December 24, 2025

Let's try to take these points one-by-one. 

• It is true that Castellanos has made only three errors in right field across four seasons with the Phillies. However, errors aren't really a metric you typically use to evaluate outfielders. It's a better gauge for infielders, where the ball is hit directly at you. In the outfield, you can avoid making an error if you just don't get to a ball. That doesn't necessarily mean you made a good play. Since joining the Phillies, Castellanos has minus-41 defensive runs saved and minus-35 outs above average, which are probably a better indication of him as a defender. 

• Castellanos has unquestionably had some great moments in the postseason over the last four seasons, particularly in the NLDS. It's true, he was the team's best hitter during their four-game NLDS loss to the New York Mets in 2024, hitting .412 with three RBIs. His overall postseason resume, though, is a bit more of a mixed bag. He's a .215 hitter in 144 playoff at-bats as a Phillie. 

• There's no doubt that Castellanos did believe that the best thing for the team this past season was for him to be playing every day. But after the Phillies acquired Harrison Bader, their best lineup against right-handed pitching was Bader in center field, Max Kepler in right field and Brandon Marsh in left field. Castellanos wasn't providing value defensively, and had just a .701 against right-handed pitching. 

The biggest takeaway from Kratz's whole rant pertains to him suggesting that the Phillies likely moving on from Castellanos is fan driven. That couldn't be further from the truth, as Castellanos continues to have segments of the fanbase that are very loyal to him. The main reason that the Phillies appear certain to move on from Castellanos is the deterioration of his relationship with the organization, particularly manager Rob Thomson. 

Castellanos was benched for a game in June after making what Thomson called "an inappropriate comment" when he lifted the outfielder for a defensive replacement in his hometown of Miami.  

When asked in September about whether he understood why he wasn't playing as frequently as he typically had, Castellanos said that “I don’t really talk to Rob all that often … communication over the years has been questionable, at least in my experience.”

Castellanos was non-committal about his future with the Phillies after they were eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski also was in his year-end press conference:

When asked by @TimKellySports about Nick Castellanos’ future with the Phillies, Dave Dombrowski was noncommittal.

(via @GraceDelPizzo) pic.twitter.com/0PMieK6NMq

— OnPattison (@OnPattison) October 16, 2025

Dombrowski has since said that "sometimes a change of scenery can be beneficial for people," an indication that the Phillies are likely to move on from Castellanos in some manner this offseason. 

Consider where the Phillies were an offseason ago with Taijuan Walker. While Castellanos posted the lowest WAR among all qualified position players this past season at minus-0.6, his 2025 season wasn't nearly as bad as a 2024 campaign that saw Walker post a 7.10 ERA across 83 2/3 innings pitched. There's probably a significant chunk of Phillies fans this offseason who think it's time to move on from Castellanos, but it's nothing like the nearly unanimous opinion last winter that Walker couldn't return. And yet, the Phillies held onto Walker when there predictably wasn't a trade market for a struggling pitcher making $18 million. This offseason, all indications are they are willing to eat a significant chunk of the $20 million owed to Castellanos next season to facilitate a trade, and if that doesn't emerge, a release is likely. 

The Phillies aren't that committed to moving on from Castellanos because of how the fans feel. 

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