Nick Castellanos — and his bat — are back for the Phillies’ playoff push

CHICAGO — After watching Nick Castellanos take batting practice a few days ago, Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson was hopeful that his right fielder could rejoin the team for their three-game series in Chicago. On Tuesday, it became official when Castellanos, who was sidelined with an oblique strain in his right side, was activated off the 10-day injured list. Thomson penciled him into the No. 6 hole against the Cubs.

This 23-day stint on the injured list was just the third IL stint of Castellanos’ career. He did not go on a rehab assignment. Instead, the right fielder chose to work out in Philadelphia. He hit in the batting cages Monday at Wrigley Field, and because he felt like he wasn’t restricted by his side, he decided he was ready to be activated.

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Thomson said he is going to try to pull Castellanos out of right field if the Phillies get a lead later in the game. They plan to check in with him on a daily basis, and it’s likely he won’t play many games in a row, at least to start.

But, at this point, Thomson will take any version of Castellanos he can get. The right fielder was just starting to hit stride right as he got injured. He is batting .310/.339/.491 over his last 30 games.

“He can be a huge [difference maker] if he swings the bat close to what he has in the past,” Thomson said. “Although the guys who have been out there have been really good. But he’s a different animal, you know.

“If his timing is right and he’s swinging the bat like he can, and like he was before he got hurt, you’re getting a fresh player coming down the stretch.”

Castellanos couldn’t be rejoining his team at a more pivotal juncture.

“We’re right in the thick of things, right?” he said. “We’re at the point now where every single game is important. We’ve got 10 left. Let’s finish strong.”

Noah Syndergaard has only three innings worth of experience pitching out of the bullpen — and two of those three innings came with the Phillies, piggybacking behind Zack Wheeler — but Thomson is intrigued by the possibility of Syndergaard in the bullpen full-time.

“His stuff ticked up when he came out of the pen the other day,” Thomson said. “We’ve been talking through it, and I talked to him about it and it’s really interesting.”

If the Phillies were to transition Syndergaard to a full-time reliever, it would have to be after the series in Washington this weekend. Syndergaard is scheduled to start one game of the doubleheader Saturday (weather permitting).

Syndergaard didn’t allow an earned run or a walk in his bullpen outing on Sept. 21. It’s possible he’ll come in behind Wheeler on Tuesday night, but if Wheeler goes long, Syndergaard will throw a heavy bullpen session instead (approximately 50-60 pitches) to get ready for his outing on Saturday.

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Reliever Brad Hand (left elbow tendinitis) had a cortisone injection and is feeling “great,” Thomson said. Hand is with the team in Chicago but won’t pick up a baseball for a few days. … Infielder Edmundo Sosa (right hamstring strain) is staying in Philadelphia along with a few players who were rehabbing in Clearwater, Fla., and some of the players who were with the instructional league. The Phillies moved them from Florida to Philadelphia because of incoming Hurricane Ian. The players who are in Philadelphia mostly are 40-man roster players whom the Phillies would like to keep ready in case they need them: Donny Sands, Rafael Marchan, Darick Hall, Scott Kingery, Michael Plassmeyer, Cristopher Sánchez, Sam Coonrod, Vinny Nittoli, and Tayler Scott.