Phillies’ Rob Thomson on moving Nick Castellanos down: ‘I think long and hard before changing the lineup’

When former Phillies manager Joe Girardi was in charge in April and May, he made a number of lineup changes to shake up their ailing offense. Kyle Schwarber started off in the leadoff spot, and then was bumped into the No. 5 and No. 6 holes. J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura both took turns at the top of the lineup, but neither of them stuck. Bryce Harper briefly hit second. It was a lot of moving pieces, especially early in the year.

That experience stuck with interim manager Rob Thomson. He noticed how the clubhouse reacted to the changes, and when it came his turn to write the lineup card, he was careful not to shuffle things too often.

“Guys typically like to hit in a certain spot, especially the more experienced guys,” Thomson said. “They like to know where they’re hitting every day, who is hitting around them. They get comfortable there. So, I think about it long and hard before changing the lineup. How it effects people mentally and emotionally.”

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After thinking about it long and hard, Thomson decided to do something different ahead of Sunday’s game against the Cubs. He moved Matt Vierling into the leadoff spot, and bumped Schwarber to the No. 2 hole. But more notable was the change he made at the No. 3 hole, where Nick Castellanos has been batting third since Bryce Harper was hit by a pitch on June 25. Twenty-one lineup cards later, Castellanos was moved from third to fifth with Rhys Hoskins moving into third.

Thomson hopes it’ll take some pressure off of the right-fielder, who is batting .160 over his last seven games before Sunday, and went 0-for-4 Friday and 0-for-5 Saturday.

How did the lineup changes work out Sunday? Vierling and Schwarber went 0-for-4, Hoskins went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Castellanos was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.

Castellanos said on Saturday night that where he hits in the lineup is Thomson’s decision, and that he doesn’t believe it has much of an impact on his performance.

“I think (moving a guy can have an impact), at times,” Thomson said. “Depends on the player. I think so, at times. That’s what we’re trying to do. Like I’ve said all along, Nick is hitting the ball hard, at least once a game, sometimes twice a game. So we’re seeing improvement. Last night he smoked that ball to right field, first at bat, it’s a good sign. And then you get a couple of 6-3s after that. But I do see improvement and he’s working at it and he’s getting there.”

Second baseman Jean Segura, who was placed on the 60-day injured list on June 1 with a fracture of his right index finger, could start a rehab assignment as soon as Tuesday, according to Thomson. Both Thomson and Segura expect it to be a quick rehab assignment, given his recent workouts.

“His workout yesterday was so good,” Thomson said of Segura. “The biggest thing that I was worrying about or wondering about was how he was going to throw, and he threw the ball so well yesterday, it was really surprising. So it might not take us as long as we thought it would.”