Injured Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos may not go on a rehab assignment

Nick Castellanos isn’t used to being injured. He has only been placed on the injured list three times in his 10-year career, and has never gone through a rehab assignment.

Castellanos, who has been sidelined with a right oblique strain since Sept. 4, likely won’t go on a rehab assignment this go-around, either.

“I always feel like guys should go on rehab assignments if they’ve been out this long,” said interim manager Rob Thomson. “But he’s done this a couple of times where he’s been hurt and really didn’t have a rehab stint and has performed fine.

“They don’t have to accept [the rehab assignment], and he’s been through it before where he didn’t have the rehab and he performed well.”

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Without seeing live pitching in a game situation — even if it is minor league pitching — it’s hard to know what to expect out of Castellanos if he does return this season. Thomson said he’s optimistic that he’ll have his right fielder back at some point over the next few weeks, but conceded that Castellanos has been out longer than anticipated.

“It’s a tricky injury,” Thomson said. “You never really know. I didn’t think it was going to be that long. Maybe I lied to you [back then], but I really didn’t think it was going to be that long.”

Castellanos hit off of the Phillies’ high velocity machine and their curveball machine on Friday. Thomson said he isn’t sure if Castellanos will go on the road with the team for their upcoming three-city trip.

Castellanos was batting .310/.339/.491 over his last 30 games at the time he was placed on the 10-day injured list. He is hitting .265/.305/.397 for the regular season.

Utility infielder Edmundo Sosa (right hamstring strain) said he’s been steadily progressing in his rehab and is starting to feel less pain in his legs. He is still unable to do work on the field, but said that he’ll likely start throwing Saturday to keep his arm in rhythm.

The biggest hurdle for Sosa is running the bases. He said the hamstring strain still is preventing him from doing that. Thomson said when the Phillies are on the road, Sosa likely will go to the team’s facility in Clearwater, Fla., to start building up his baseball activity. There still is no firm date on when he will rejoin the club, but they are hoping for an October return.

“Of course it’s difficult because I want to help,” Sosa said in Spanish. “But we have a lot of good players here, and they’re all doing their part. We’re all on the same page, working hard to get to the playoffs.”

Thomson was asked on Friday about the possibility of first baseman/DH Darick Hall rejoining the big league team at some point this year. Hall has scuffled in his last seven games, hitting .217/.217/.348 over that span, but is hitting .265/.306/.529 over his last 30.

“Well, it’s always a consideration,” Thomson said. “Once their season is over, I think the conversation gets a little bit more involved.”

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When asked if Hall could be added to the taxi squad, Thomson responded: “He could, but I think he’d get more work ... if their season ended, we’ve got a group of guys going to Clearwater to keep working out. I think he could get more work there than he could with us on the road. It’d be different maybe if we were home, because we’ve got more time.”