Nick Castellanos an All-Star again with a different mindset: ‘The motivation is a little less selfish’

Last time, he was playing for control of his future. Now he's focused on playing for the other guys in the clubhouse and feeling settled in Year 2 with the Phillies.

Year 2 with the Phillies has led to a second All-Star nod for Nick Castellanos.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Alex Coffey

Published July 10, 2023, 6:43 p.m. ET

SEATTLE — The last time Nick Castellanos was named to the All-Star Game was in 2021. He was in his final season with the Reds. His numbers at the break were slightly better — 18 home runs with a .331/.384/.585 slash line — but he had a completely different mindset. Castellanos was in a contract year. That was what motivated him.

This time, it’s different. He signed the $100 million contract last spring with the Phillies. He’s not playing for himself.

“Now, I’m playing for Philadelphia,” he said. “I’m playing for the teammates in the locker room. Being a veteran that can help young guys be as constant as they can, with Edmundo [Sosa] and Brandon [Marsh] and [Bryson] Stott, and be there in any way possible. The satisfaction and the things that I have to pay attention to are different.

“The motivation is a little less selfish, I would say. I’m playing for the team, the guys in the clubhouse. I loved playing in Cincinnati, but I also knew I had control of my contract. So, that was very motivating for me. Me being in control of my own destiny is something that enticed me a lot. The motivation was different.”

He likes this version of himself. On Tuesday night, Castellanos will play in his second career All-Star Game, but that isn’t what he is most proud of. It’s his consistency. That wasn’t something he could say about himself last season. Castellanos has become the Phillies’ most reliable bat. He’s hitting .301/.344/.496, with 13 home runs. He leads his team in slugging percentage, batting average, and OPS with .840.

“Consistency matters most because those are the things I go to sleep with,” he said. “This [honor] is given to me from the opinions of others. They give me this honor. If I’m going about my day the right way, the only way I can judge that is who is looking back at me in the mirror. If I have peace with who is looking back at me in the mirror, all of this other stuff is gravy.”

A big part of why Castellanos has been able to able to stay so consistent is that he feels more settled. He signed his contract with the Phillies soon after the lockout ended. He didn’t have much time to adjust to a new city. His second son, Otto, was born in early May and Castellanos felt like he “dropped the ball” in getting to know him, because he was in the midst of his season.

But this offseason he had time to recharge and reconnect with his family. It did a lot of good. It feels fitting that they are all in Seattle with him. Castellanos’ mother, Michelle, wife, Jess, and brother and sister are all here, along with two of his best friends. Baby Otto and Otto’s 9-year-old brother Liam are here, too.

Castellanos said there was no guarantee that Liam would sign off on this. He had a baseball tournament to go to in Florida. And like his father, his team is what motivates him.

They had two conversations about it. The first one was “mature,” in Castellanos’ words. Liam said he’d leave his tournament a few days early to go to Seattle. But a few days ago, he changed his mind.

“When it actually came time for it, and the team was doing really well, he called me,” Castellanos said. “He was pretty emotional. He told me he wanted to stay with his team in Florida. And I just had to tell him, ‘No, man, we made a plan. You’ve got to stick with it.’”

In a few years, Liam will be glad he did.