Phillies’ Nick Castellanos aims to return from injured list next week in Chicago

A few hours before Saturday’s game, Nick Castellanos went through a full on-field workout at Citizens Bank Park, making throws from right field and taking batting practice.

By next week, he expects to be back in the Phillies’ lineup.

“I wouldn’t say it’s 100%, but I don’t feel like I need to be 100%,” said Castellanos, who has missed three weeks with a strained oblique muscle in his right side. “I just don’t really want to feel restricted.”

The Phillies haven’t set a date for Castellanos’ return, but interim manager Rob Thomson said he’s “hoping during the Chicago series” against the Cubs, which begins Tuesday night and runs through Thursday at Wrigley Field. The Phillies have 11 regular-season games remaining.

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Team officials asked Castellanos if he thinks he would benefit from playing a few games in triple A before returning from the injured list. Thomson said he usually prefers that players go on a brief rehab assignment.

But Castellanos, who has the right to decline a trip to the minors, said he would rather not to waste more time in coming back, especially this late in the season. He has been on the injured list twice previously (last season with a fractured right wrist and 2016 with a broken bone in his left hand) and returned without a minor league tuneup.

“This is a completely different level than the minor leagues,” Castellanos said. “I’ve known so many people that have gone down and have done fantastic in their rehab assignments and then have come up and it’s a new game. My philosophy is the sooner that I can just get back into the game that’s important, the better.”

When Castellanos was sidelined on Sept. 4, Thomson said the Phillies were optimistic that he would miss the minimum 10 days. But strained oblique muscles are often difficult to overcome, especially for baseball players who put torque on their back and side whenever they swing a bat. The injury tends to linger and can worsen if players attempt to come back before they’re ready.

Castellanos said he has felt discomfort only when he hits. Throwing and running haven’t been a problem, according to Castellanos.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I just know that every single person that has had [this injury] has come up to me and said this is something that you don’t want to rush. Because if you [mess] it up, then you’re done and the rehab goes into the offseason. It’s been like the most delicate balance of ‘hurry up and get back’ and ‘don’t hurt yourself.’ ”

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When Castellanos does return, Thomson said the Phillies likely will have to monitor his workload down the stretch. In Castellanos’ absence, Matt Vierling (eight starts), infielder Nick Maton (seven starts), and recent call-up Dalton Guthrie (four starts) have shared time in right field and combined to bat .312/.371/.484 with an .855 on-base plus slugging.

“Just talking to [Castellanos], I’m pretty confident and comfortable that he’s going to be able to come back and do what he needs to do,” Thomson said. “Now, we may need to give him some days off here and there because we want to make sure we don’t overplay him and he gets hurt, pulls a muscle or something. But he’s done this before. He knows his body better than anybody.”

Castellanos has struggled in his first season with the Phillies after signing a five-year, $100 million contract in spring training. At one point over the summer, he went 113 plate appearances without hitting a home run. He’s batting .265/.305/.397 with 13 homers and ranks 127th among 131 players who qualify for the batting title in wins above replacement (minus-0.7, according to Fangraphs).

Like most baseball fans, Thomson is paying attention to Aaron Judge’s pursuit of Roger Maris’ 61-year-old single-season American League home run record of 61 home runs.

But Thomson also has a personal connection to Judge. He was part of the New York Yankees’ coaching staff in 2016 and 2017, Judge’s first two seasons in the majors.

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“Being with him for a couple years and knowing how talented he is and how good of a person he is, I’m really watching that one,” Thomson said. “It’s pretty amazing to me.”

Judge went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts Saturday and remains paused on 60 homers.

Braves star right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. (back spasms) was out of the lineup for a third consecutive game. ... After exiting early Friday night with soreness in his banged-up left knee, Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh was cleared to return to the lineup. Marsh was batting .293/.316/.446 in 30 games since being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels in a deadline trade for catching prospect Logan O’Hoppe. ... Sunday marks the Phillies’ last regular-season home game. Through Friday, they were ninth in the National League in attendance at 2,207,954, down from 2,727,421 in 2019. ... Kyle Gibson (10-7, 4.71 ERA) will start the series finale Sunday against Braves right-hander Charlie Morton (9-6, 4.09).